105. Wonder Wheel; movie review

WONDER WHEEL
Cert 12A
101 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex

I've written many times that I am not a great fan of Woody Allen's movies but, for the first time I can remember, my opinion seems to be in the mainstream.
Is Wonder Wheel struggling for cinema distribution because of the resurfacing of sex allegations against Allen or because it is unmemorable?
Fair play to its cast - Kate Winslet, Juno Temple, James Belushi and Justin Timberlake try their hardest to breathe life into Allen's script.
But the truth is that the film is just too bitter and downbeat to have the allure it needs.
Allen has set his melodrama at 1950s Coney Island and the backdrop is certainly its highlight, taking those of a certain age back to the days when seaside fairgrounds were places of wonder.
Winslet plays the wife of the merry-go-round operator (Belushi), who has a nasty habit of beating her when he turns to drink.
Meanwhile, his daughter (Temple), who has run away from her gangster boyfriend has turned up, after a five-year estrangement, to ask for shelter.
Amid the chaos her step-daughter brings, Winslet seeks solace in an affair with a younger lifeguard (Timberlake) but is distracted by the obsession of her son (Jack Gore) for setting fires.
This is a movie where all of the characters are hanging on by their fingernails.
The dearth of love and money is central to each of their lives and they all have different resolutions.
As said, all of the actors offer enthusiastic contributions but I did wonder whether they ended up aping characters from past Allen films .
For example, I sensed Winslet attempting to mimic Cate Blanchett's Blue Jasmine role without have the acting power to do so.
Allen's melodrama usually comes with the occasional funny moment but here there is no attempt at humour - even Coney Island has a feeling that its better days are past.
Indeed, it feels a bit sad. Even though I haven't been a fan of Allen, I have recognised that he has many supporters and has contributed considerably to cinema over many decades.
This felt as if he had arranged a leaving do but had no funny stories to tell to the few people who had turned up.


Reasons to watch: Fans of Woody Allen will probably lap it up
Reasons to avoid: The typically neurotic shouting of an Allen film

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Director's quote - Woody Allen: "I felt Coney Island was a metaphor for life in a certain way with the Wonder Wheel going round and round."

The big question - Woody Allen, did he or didn't he?

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