WONDER WHEEL

The story of four characters whose lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s: Ginny, an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress in a clam house; Humpty, Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey, a handsome young lifeguard who dreams of becoming a playwright; and Carolina, Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is now hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment.
—
Typical Woody Allen movie. Lots of dialogue. Complicated relationships. Kate Winslet is excellent. The problem is that it is all very contrived and artificial and comes across as an earnest stage play that doesn’t engage with what is an incredible tragedy. I guess some will want to see Justin Timberlake — he’s ok. Not one of Allen’s best, in my opinion. Too by-the-numbers.