I know, I know. Woody Allen has a bad rep. But there is absolutely no denying his films are works of art. My favourite to this day is Midnight in Paris because the radiance it brings to the screen is not like anything I had seen to date. Wonder Wheel is on par with that. (Cafe Society is also one of my favourites but that’s mostly because Jesse Eisenberg is a dream).

Wonder Wheel tells the story of Ginny (Kate Winslet) a waitress in a clam bar on Coney Island. Ginny’s husband also works on Coney Island as a ride engineer and subsequently they live in an unused shack which used to be one of the carnivals main attractions, it is now a not-so-comfortable home to them and Ginny’s son.

Ginny’s stepdaughter arrives on the scene fairly early on in the story, Carolina (Juno Temple) is on the run from a mob as she has left her gangster husband and told too much of his story to the police, resulting in his hoodlums wanting to kill her.

The story is narrated by one of Coneys lifeguards, Mickie (Justin Timberlake) who ends up having an affair with Ginny whilst gradually falling in love with Carolina.

The story is full of twists and turns, although being fairly predictable (story-wise) it’s witty and charming nature makes it very easy to watch and the pace keeps the viewer interested.

Although Ginny isn’t the nicest human being on the planet (she is having an affair after all) I did end up caring deeply about her.

The whole film is a triumph but the icing on the top of a large, delicious cake comes in the form of Kate Winslet’s performance. She is just outstanding, her accent is flawless, she’s naturally genuine and completely captivating to watch. The support performances are also very strong, Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple work perfectly as the jam and cream within the cake (I think I might be hungry).

I strongly recommend this beautiful piece of original cinema. 🎡🎢🎠