By Steve CrumDespite stars Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake, the real celebrities in Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel are his cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, and Suzy Benzinger, Allen’s longtime costume designer. Then there’s the fantastic filming location, Coney Island.
Storaro’s opening panorama shot of Coney Island in blazing color is awesome, as well as his stunning use of color hues during dramatic scenes.
In this 53rd Allen-directed film (including his TV work), the focus is on a 1950 summer at Coney Island in Brooklyn. More specifically, it is a drama/character study whose central figure, Ginny (superbly played by Kate Winslet), is a lost soul married to Jim Belushi’s Humpty. (Yep, that’s his name.) He’s a carousel operator, and she waitresses at Ruby’s Clam Shop. Not only do they work at Coney Island, but live above the amusement park’s noisy shooting gallery. They and Ginny’s son from a previous marriage, Richie (Jack Gore), while away their days in unique ways. 
Humpty enjoys fishing off the pier with buddies. Ginny thinks she has found true love and lust in an affair with lifeguard Mickey, effectively realized by Justin Timberlake. And middle schooler Richie is fired up about…fires. The young pyromaniac starts them whenever and wherever he can. A unique family, indeed. So when Humpty’s estranged daughter Carolina (Juno Temple) knocks at his door after a decade, things change. That she is on the lam from the mob adds another layer of uniqueness. 
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Woody Allen sets up a shot with Kate Winslet and Jim Belushi.
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Quoting Mickey, who also speaks to us as narrator, “It just seems to go from one drama to another.” That pretty well sums up Allen’s screenplay, which comes across as pretty contrived and a bit too “unique” for its own good. The overlapping plot lines trail on without resolution, becoming more of a psychological study of Ginny and the sad existence of those around her.
Still, Kate Winslet captures Ginny well, including her Brooklyn dialect, not easy for a Brit, and her frumpy body language. Mourning her own birthday celebration, she responds to the comment, “Turning 40 is a milestone”: “No, it’s a tombstone.” (A great Woody Allen line, if ever.) Obnoxiously insecure, she is self-centered with desperation. Like the park’s 150 foot ferris wheel of the film’s title, life turns.As Ginny’s character ultimately morphs into a rough blend of Blanche Dubois and Norma Desmond, one speculates on her fate while admiring Winslet’s acting chops.
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GRADE on an A-F Scale: B-