Four lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of 1950s Coney Island in Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel, a searing tale of passion and betrayal. There’s Ginny (Kate Winslet), an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress; Humpty (Jim Belushi), Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey (Justin Timberlake), a handsome young lifeguard; and Carolina (Juno Temple), Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment. Kate Winslet is magnificent in this gorgeous, bittersweet romance, lensed by master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who saturates Wonder Wheel with colour and light to create a lush, visual delight.

Directed by Woody Allen and starring Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Jim Belushi and Juno Temple – IN CINEMAS DECEMBER 07

“Kate Winslet is stunning in Woody Allen’s gorgeous ’50s romance. Winslet delivers her most powerful, emotionally resonant performance in more than a decade. It’s among the very best moments in her extensive career.” IndieWire

“Kate Winslet shines. A classy showcase for Kate Winslet’s dramatic range in a part, not dissimilar to Blanchett’s, that should bring her a raft of awards nominations.” Screen Daily

““Wonder Wheel” is a kaleidoscope of lights and delights with best-in-class cinematography, perfect casting and impeccable period detail. Kate Winslet has rarely been better in a part that lets her talent unfurl and bloom in new ways. The most visually stunning film of the director’s decades-long career. Entirely beautiful.” The Playlist

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Competition will be drawn 05 December 2017, winners will be notified by mail.

Irrational Man is a wry, upbeat comedy about a brilliant but tormented philosophy professor in crisis. Abe (Phoenix) arrives at a picturesque Rhode Island College feeling that his life is meaningless. He soon attracts the attention of Rita (Posey), a lonely professor who sees Abe as her escape from an unhappy marriage, and Jill (Stone), a bright student who finds his tortured artistic personality irresistible. Pure chance changes everything for Abe when he overhears a stranger’s tale of woe. Abe sees his opportunity to perform what he believes is a moral act and suddenly his life has purpose. But as Jill begins to uncover the true cause of Abe’s newfound happiness, his perfect plan begins to unravel. Showcasing terrific comedic performances and Woody Allen’s trademark wit, Irrational Man is a playful musing on the fallibility of reason in the face of reality.
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As is the norm for these kinds of things a rocky romance reluctantly blossoms between the pair predictably precipitating the drama and comedy for the story. Of course Firth is old enough to be Stone’s father but add a little Just For Men and, voila, problem solved.

Written and directed by Woody Allen, the film is a frivolous but interesting discussion on open versus closed minds; hard rationality versus the fantastic; and the complex relationship between science, philosophy and religion. Though the film sways back and forth between the opposing viewpoints it ultimately remains an agnostic observer, recognising that different people gain sustenance from different beliefs and that truth is, in some ways, secondary to this.

Allen’s writing and direction is simple, neat and concise, as are the performances delivered by his cast which also features Marcia Gay Harden. With a neat twist in the plot which is deftly presented, Magic in the Moonlight is pleasant and mildly thought provoking entertainment.

Stuart Jamieson
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