Great job by Vittorio Storaro
A great cinematographer! This movie looks awesome! A pleasure for the eyes!
shareStoraro is the only reason i'm interested in watching this movie... I don't know if it is good or not, but he's a master...
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MovieChat Forums > Wonder Wheel (2017) Discussion > Great job by Vittorio Storaro
Agreed.
shareThe lights in the film were fantastic. The use of lighting was really something. I'm not sure if that was Vittorio Storaro or somebody else, but yeah, I agree that the movie looks fantastic.
shareThe visuals look great but don’t fit with the drama of the storyline. I Would have prefered black and white film stock. Good drama and great performances.
shareI have to agree with ya in regards to the lighting, Ace.
I watched this movie last night, the lighting was terrific. I was pretty much mesmerized by it. But not sure if this was Allen's doing or VS's. Stunning how good it is though. Reminds me of the visuals in that movie Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003). Just amazing sets and use of color in that movie. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a look.
However, I wasn't too crazy about the lead character (Mickey) played by Justin Timberlake talking to the camera. I think simple narration would have been a better option. Still an interesting movie though, I recently watched A Rainy Day In New York (another Woody film) and I think I liked A Rainy Day a little more than this but WW is highly underrated. Winslet's performance was Oscar worthy.
Unfortunately, it looks like the critics hated this film for the most part. I'll give it a 6.9 out of 10. It has a certain charm to it even though the characters are a little sad, the 1950's Coney Island set was impressive. I am not sure Woody Allen has anything else to say but obviously he can still dish out a solid film.
I feel like it'd be Vittorio Storaro. Or, at least, not Woody Allen's. I love Allen's work, but I don't get the impression that he worries about the technical details a lot. More to the point, he seems to be very "hands-off" as a director (from what I've heard) and trusts his team to deliver on their work. Maybe he said, "I want it sorta like X," but after some initial meetings he probably just left VS to do his job right and trusted that the lighting would look magnificent - and boy, did it. It's weird to even comment on something like that, but there it is.
I have seen Girl with a Pearl Earring, and you're right, it's also got some really wonderful images and looks to it. I've seen a few films about painters and their lives; they almost always bring something interesting to the visuals. I think when filmmakers are working with visual artistry they maybe feel the need to step it up a notch so that their film doesn't look less interesting than the paintings. The two that stand out the most, visually, are Loving Vincent and The Mill and the Cross. While neither is a "top 10" film for me, they are very good movies, and both are sumptuous feasts in the visual department.
I didn't mind the fourth wall busting, but I'm a bit of a sucker for that. Mickey wasn't a particularly memorable lead, however. I still haven't seen Rainy Day. I also haven't seen Rifkin's Festival. Like all of Woody's oeuvre, they're on my list.
Critics don't like Woody anymore. They loved him more and more from the '60s to the '90s. Then, after Mighty Aphrodite, they kinda dried up on the guy and said he "lost it" for years. Match Point and Midnight in Paris were rare flare-ups of near-universal praise. Blue Jasmine was the last. I think it'll remain that way, too, unless he knocks it out of the park just after the Farrows all make statements that he's actually innocent. It's not "okay" to like Woody anymore because he's been cancelled.
6.9 is probably about right for WW. I still love him as a filmmaker because even his lesser films are on-par or better than most other movies. Wonder Wheel features great performances, cinematography, and settings, and it's all good enough to make it worth watching. It's certainly not vapid junk. And for all the criticism Allen takes for all of his movies being the same, I find he does keep exploring humanity and relationships in interesting ways. He's not making Bananas anymore, that's for sure.
I thought Mighty Aphrodite was pretty funny. I liked it...
Woody has a unique way of being able to capture the human experience/condition in his movies in a very raw and gritty way, hopefully he won't stay cancelled for very long.
Haven't seen Rifkins Festival but I'll get around to it eventually. Blue Jasmine was an impressive film. I had my doubts about the cast in that movie but it amazes me how Woody can take an average to slightly above average cast and make a good film with'em.
Anyhow, Rainy Day is definitely worth checking out. I still think my favorite WA film is Manhattan, his neurotic personality fits that movie so well.
What's yours?
I liked Mighty Aphrodite, too, but I've loved a lot of his films since then. Okay, I agree that his quality was generally better in the '70s and '80s, but Manhattan Murder Mystery, Mighty Aphrodite, Midnight in Paris, Whatever Works, To Rome with Love, and Blue Jasmine are all terrific. Small Time Crooks has a brilliant premise, and if you're on the fence about Curse of the Jade Scorpion, try dialing out your television's colour so you can watch it in black-and-white to appreciate how truly close Woody got to '30s and '40s-style visuals - right down to the camera angles and movement. I did it once and almost forgot it was a newer movie.
Yes, I agree; Woody captures human experiences in a real way. Husbands and Wives is one of the best for that unflinching look at people.
I think it's a permanent cancellation. Every now and then Mia, Dylan, or Ronan take a swipe at him and more people believe their side. I'm not saying I know the truth, but I think it's despicable that people hear one side and judge Woody for it. That's a whole other rant/discussion. But basically I think his reputation is on the rocks as-is and as soon as he dies, the Farrow camp will turn their full power on and obliterate his legacy. I gather up any Woody DVDs wherever I find them because I feel like they won't be available at all in ten or twenty years.
Woody's casting is 99.99% awesome. The only miscast I can think of off the top of my head was Ellen Page in To Rome with Love. She was cast as some kind of siren who has a magical, sexual hold over any man, and when she walked in the room I thought, "Her?" In the same movie, Woody has Penelope Cruz playing a vivacious prostitute and I'm supposed to buy the sexual magnetism of Ellen Page? Weird choice. Miley Cyrus in Crisis in Six Scenes didn't grab me at first, but she kinda grew on me.
I'll check out Rainy Day. I plan to see all the Allen pictures at some point.
Favourite WA film is tricky. As I said, there is a wide variety. How can I compare Midnight in Paris (a fantasy/romance film in the magic-real genre) to Husbands and Wives (very much a drama) to Annie Hall (a fourth wall-busting rom-com and bio-pic of a person who isn't actually Woody)?
I'll give you a top three, which does shift around on me when I remember other classics.
1. Match Point. High tension, great themes, perfect ruminations on the human condition, this one is dramatic, thrilling, and erotic. It's challenging, and I think a harder-hitting version of Crimes and Misdemeanors. I miss Woody's witty fun here, but not enough to bump it.
2. Annie Hall. A cliche top-Allen? Yes, but with good reason. It's easy to look on this as nothing more than the ur-Allen - the perfect example of Allen's tropes and tricks. But is that bad? Furthermore, the film - in my opinion - is far harder to actually pin down. It's deceptive. It's a rom-com on the surface, but the ending isn't rom-com standard, and it's just as much a character study of Alvy Singer as a kind of everyman struggling with life, love, and his own unhappiness. Aren't we all Alvy sooner or later? If we're not Alvy, we're Annie, mercurial and insecure, trying to find ourselves in a world of people who want us to be somebody we're not. It's also an analysis of relationships and love. It's also just good, weird fun, with the animation bits, the split-screen families arguing, and the weird fantasies and flashbacks. Annie Hall bursts with good stuff.
3. Manhattan. I'll join you here, and this could easily be number one or two. Manhattan looks beautiful, is filled with sharp wit, and is brilliant as a drama disguised as a comedy. To me, this is when Allen transitions fully into his "'80s mode" from his '70s vibes. I love this for the complexity of the relationships and the imagery as much as the characters, performances, and dialogue.
Finally, before signing off, I'll shout out to Woody's experimental stuff. We get found footage/documentary styles in Husbands and Wives, mocumentary exploration in Zelig (Woody should get more credit for this; mocumentary doesn't begin and end with Spinal Tap), and The Purple Rose of Cairo is so delightful for its magic-real premise with metaphorical meaning.
Oh, and Stardust Memories and Radio Days.
And I could keep going and going...
I don't mind his castings so much but Andrew Dice Clay was an odd choice in Blue Jasmine but somehow it just worked. He was actually pretty good in this movie.
But yeah, narrowing it down to just one movie from him is hard to do. I think you've seen more WA films than I have. I still haven't seen Match Point and H&W. I will get around to it sometime in the near future. Radio Days is one of my favz though. I'll have to check out To Rome with Love as well, if for any reason, just to see how awkward it is with Ellen Page knowing that she is now living as a man. haha...
Oddly enough though, I didn't care for Midnight In Paris that much. I thought it was okay, a bit overrated though.
Judging by the length of your replies, Woody must be your favorite director. Understandable, he is pretty much a legend in this industry.
Funnily enough, I knew you were talking about Andrew Dice Clay as soon as you mentioned Blue Jasmine's casting. He was a surprise to me, too, but he was really good in it. Blue Jasmine made me think it'd be cool if he was in some other indie dramas. It felt a little like Bill Burr on Breaking Bad; solid performances out of a guy you associate with a very specific kind of comedy.
I've seen thirty-six of his movies, plus A Crisis in Six Scenes, and have another thirteen to go. Match Point would definitely be one to see, in my opinion - obviously. But, as I said, I think even his worst films are still fun and worth watching, so... all of 'em? Radio Days is such an underrated gem. It strikes me as the film equivalent of one of those important novels that you study in school. It's just such a good coming-of-age story and portrait of life and families.
To Rome with Love is a really good movie. It's really four short stories packaged as one, which is neat because there's a lot to rediscover on repeat viewings. I haven't watched it since Ellen became Elliot, but maybe I should just to wrap around that. Woody does some amazing comedy in that one, too. I think it's the last film of his he's been in, although he was also in A Crisis in Six Scenes - the TV series he did.
I really liked Midnight in Paris, but I get why people don't. I do acknowledge that there is a weakness there, which is that the fiancee character (Rachel McAdams) has no redeeming qualities, so it's not like we're sitting around torn between her and the French chick. It'd be nice if McAdam's character was a "safe/sensible" choice and the French girl was the "romantic" choice so there was more tension. But, for the romance, the magical elements, and the fun (Dali!) I really liked it. Also, side note, between About Time, Midnight in Paris, The Time Traveller's Wife, and Doctor Strange, Rachel McAdams seems to have a penchant for hooking up with time hopping men.
Woody is up there. I'm not sure I could pick an ultimate "best" or "favourite," but he'd be a top 3. Kurosawa'd probably make the cut, too. Woody is one of the best.
I watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona last night. I wasn't too thrilled with it. But it's somewhat entertaining with some good performances by the cast. The story didn't seem to catch my attention the way so many of his films do.
I'm probably going to watch Interiors next, I might have seen it years ago. Then perhaps Match Point and H&W.
Woody is probably in my top 3 as well, along with Tarantino and Kubrick. Too hard to narrow it down though.
Good chat as always, Ace.
I've been meaning to rewatch Vicky Cristina recently. I don't remember it as well as I'd like. It has a bit of a wandering plot, too, kinda switching main characters from one to the other half-way through (if I recall correctly).
I haven't seen Interiors, but obviously I intend to.
Kubrick's brilliant, Tarantino's brilliant... but then so are Hitchcock and Wilder.
Good chatting with you, too!