Woody Allen often is an interesting and insightful director, whose films regardless of how they come off overall look great, have great soundtracks and he often knows how to get strong performances out of actors, at his best his writing was a fine mix of the hilarious, the poignantly dramatic and the thought-provoking.
Allen's glory days were in the late 60s through to the early 90s, with the 70s and 80s (which saw masterpieces like 'Annie Hall', 'Crimes and Misdemeanours', 'Hannah and Her Sisters', 'Radio Days' and 'Manhattan' for example) being particularly good decades. From mid-90s onwards he became hit and miss, with the odd gem like 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' but generally his glory days are long gone.
As far as his films from the 2010s decade go, 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' are vastly superior, but 'Wonder Wheel' does fare much better than 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" and particularly 'To Rome With Love'. It isn't great and doesn't quite have enough wonder, far from being one of Allen's best, but it is not terrible, much better than critics have said it to be and is a long way from being one of Allen's worst. In terms of ranking, it's somewhere around low-middling.
'Wonder Wheel's' biggest selling point is the cinematography, which is truly magnificent. Every shot takes the breath away and bathed in rich vivid colours. The setting is also beautiful. The soundtrack also is an ideal fit, giving a real sense of period as well as being a wonderful soundtrack on its own.
Some of the writing is poignant and thought-provoking (this is a serious Allen effort so there is very little in the humour department), succeeding in not making things too black and white, good and bad, every character has flaws while having enough that stops us from hating them too much (or at least that's my stance and perhaps not a popular one).
The story did maintain interest, didn't come over as dull to me and thematically and characterisation-wise it's a long way from simple, pretty heavy themes handled seriously. Allen directs nicely and efficiently enough and the relationships intrigue. Most of the performances are good. Astounding in Kate Winslet's case, inhabiting her way in a way that's both intense and moving. James Belushi similarly excels in an atypically serious role for him and Juno Temple is luminous.
Justin Timberlake however is far less successful. Have to agree with those who found him miscast and out of place, he also came over as annoying and badly overdid the neurotic aspects of his character in a film where generally the neuroses were overdone. He suffers from the worst of the dialogue too, as said there is enough evidence of good writing elsewhere but some of it is also unnatural and over-heated.
Like the script, the storytelling is uneven too. Enough of it is poignant, thought-provoking and insightful, other parts (too many) are overwritten melodrama that doesn't quite come together and there is as noted elsewhere a staginess that is not going to connect with some because it doesn't allow the drama to fully expand.
Other than Timberlake's performance, the other biggest problem is the ending. Another instance of one that's far too inconclusive and like Allen didn't know how to end it, plot points were begging for resolution and were instead left hanging in the air or too ambiguous.
In conclusion, didn't work entirely for me, which is disappointing for an Allen film, but not a bad film by any stretch with a good deal to recommend (especially the cinematography and Winslet). 6/10 Bethany Cox
Allen's glory days were in the late 60s through to the early 90s, with the 70s and 80s (which saw masterpieces like 'Annie Hall', 'Crimes and Misdemeanours', 'Hannah and Her Sisters', 'Radio Days' and 'Manhattan' for example) being particularly good decades. From mid-90s onwards he became hit and miss, with the odd gem like 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' but generally his glory days are long gone.
As far as his films from the 2010s decade go, 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' are vastly superior, but 'Wonder Wheel' does fare much better than 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" and particularly 'To Rome With Love'. It isn't great and doesn't quite have enough wonder, far from being one of Allen's best, but it is not terrible, much better than critics have said it to be and is a long way from being one of Allen's worst. In terms of ranking, it's somewhere around low-middling.
'Wonder Wheel's' biggest selling point is the cinematography, which is truly magnificent. Every shot takes the breath away and bathed in rich vivid colours. The setting is also beautiful. The soundtrack also is an ideal fit, giving a real sense of period as well as being a wonderful soundtrack on its own.
Some of the writing is poignant and thought-provoking (this is a serious Allen effort so there is very little in the humour department), succeeding in not making things too black and white, good and bad, every character has flaws while having enough that stops us from hating them too much (or at least that's my stance and perhaps not a popular one).
The story did maintain interest, didn't come over as dull to me and thematically and characterisation-wise it's a long way from simple, pretty heavy themes handled seriously. Allen directs nicely and efficiently enough and the relationships intrigue. Most of the performances are good. Astounding in Kate Winslet's case, inhabiting her way in a way that's both intense and moving. James Belushi similarly excels in an atypically serious role for him and Juno Temple is luminous.
Justin Timberlake however is far less successful. Have to agree with those who found him miscast and out of place, he also came over as annoying and badly overdid the neurotic aspects of his character in a film where generally the neuroses were overdone. He suffers from the worst of the dialogue too, as said there is enough evidence of good writing elsewhere but some of it is also unnatural and over-heated.
Like the script, the storytelling is uneven too. Enough of it is poignant, thought-provoking and insightful, other parts (too many) are overwritten melodrama that doesn't quite come together and there is as noted elsewhere a staginess that is not going to connect with some because it doesn't allow the drama to fully expand.
Other than Timberlake's performance, the other biggest problem is the ending. Another instance of one that's far too inconclusive and like Allen didn't know how to end it, plot points were begging for resolution and were instead left hanging in the air or too ambiguous.
In conclusion, didn't work entirely for me, which is disappointing for an Allen film, but not a bad film by any stretch with a good deal to recommend (especially the cinematography and Winslet). 6/10 Bethany Cox