Woody Allen is a machine. The man has been making movies for over 40 years and hasn’t stopped for a second. Not all of his films hit the mark, but when they do it’s spectacular. His newest feature is the period drama WONDER WHEEL with Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi, Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple, and the movie has all the classic clothing and fluorescent colors reminiscent of 50’s Americana. But underneath it flourishes brews drama and danger, and you can get a glimpse at it all in the first trailer for the movie above!
Here is the plot synopsis:
WONDER WHEEL tells the story of four characters whose lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s: Ginny (Kate Winslet), an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress in a clam house; Humpty (Jim Belushi), Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey (Justin Timberlake), a handsome young lifeguard who dreams of becoming a playwright; and Carolina (Juno Temple), Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is now hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro captures a tale of passion, violence, and betrayal that plays out against the picturesque tableau of 1950s Coney Island.
Allen’s name alone makes this an Oscar hopeful, but we will have to see how people respond to it out of the New York Film Festival where it is playing on the closing night. The movie has a PG-13 rating, so I don’t know if the lack of hard, adult themes and actions will affect the movie, but it looks pretty and keeping the setting on Coney Island gives it the appearance of a play, with the limited cast sharing the stage. If anyone will come out from this looking the best it will be either Winslet or Belushi, with the two looking great as the dysfunctional married couple. Way to go, Belushi.
WONDER WHEEL hits limited theaters December 1