Wonder Wheel, Woody Allen‘s latest film, has been selected to close out the 55th annual New York Film Festival. The movie stars Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Jim Belushi, and Juno Temple. Allen has re-teamed with Amazon Studios and renowned cinematographer Vittorio Storaro to bring this picture to life.
Allen’s most recent rom-com adventure takes place on New York’s Coney Island during the 1950s and follows a lifeguard (Timberlake) telling a dreamlike story of a local couple and their daughter. The family consists of a middle-aged carousel operator (Belushi) and his troubled wife (Winslet) as they are making a modest living on the boardwalk when the operator’s estranged daughter (Temple) shows up unannounced. From there a tale of human complications and emotion is weaved. Rumor has it that Winslet is the one to watch here and is already garnering plenty of awards buzz, although it has only been seen by a very select few so far.
I’m not quite sure what I expected when I sat down to watch Wonder Wheel,” said NYFF director and Chair of the Selection Committee Kent Jones, “but when the lights came up I was speechless. There are elements in the film that will certainly be familiar to anyone who knows Woody Allen’s work, but here he holds them up to a completely new light. I mean that literally and figuratively, because Allen and Vittorio Storaro use light and color in a way that is stunning in and of itself but also integral to the mounting emotional power of the film. And at the center of it all is Kate Winslet’s absolutely remarkable performance—precious few actors are that talented, or fearless.
Wonder Wheel will make its world premiere at the Alice Tully Hall on Saturday October 14. Amazon Studios is releasing the film in theaters on December 1.
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