Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel”

Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel” - Photography of Girl Riding Bike Beside Man

I recently watched Woody Allen’s latest movie, Wonder Wheel. I loved the movie and my first impression was a possible influence by Tennessee Williams's works, especially regarding the main character Ginny.

Does anyone agree on this? Did other users notice Tennessee Williams' style in depicting the main character?



Best Answer

I have not seen the film, but I have read a few reviews that believe, YES, Woody Allen is continiously obsessed with A Street Car Named Desire...

Here are three reviews that observe Tennesee Williams influences:

Woody Allen seems increasingly haunted by the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The basic situation of that Williams classic was reused for Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” which won Cate Blanchett an Oscar, and it is repurposed again (but somewhat transposed) for “Wonder Wheel,” a film about a frustrated woman in 1950s Coney Island named Ginny (Kate Winslet)...

Blanchett got her Oscar for “Blue Jasmine” because Allen gave her the opportunity to break down and mentally unravel in a colorfully histrionic fashion in practically every scene. He has given Winslet a similar assignment and opportunity here, and she enters whole-heartedly into many demanding long takes where Ginny reveals her dashed hopes and her strident needs. This is a weak, sometimes deluded woman at the end of her tether who nearly always has a headache, and her desperation when it comes to holding on to Mickey’s affections starts to become very overbearing as the film goes on... https://www.thewrap.com/wonder-wheel-review-woody-allen-kate-winslet-justin-timberlake/


If you watch a Woody Allen movie one of the first things that you can catch early on is how much the man LOOOOOOVES Tennessee Williams for a lot of his films have the narrative elements of a Williams play. This man is trying so hard to be Tennessee Williams for every single movie that has to deal with an affair; this ultimately becomes ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ like every single film Allen made the last ten years. What makes this film egregious on top of the familiar narrative that we've seen a million times is the additional nonessential layers added so that it won’t be viewed as a ‘Streetcar’ knockoff. http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//wonder-wheel-review


Woody Allen's last feature, Café Society, was an amiably forgettable assembly of recycled nostalgia, redeemed by a luminous performance from Kristen Stewart. His new film, Wonder Wheel, rummages in the more recent archives, repackaging elements of one of the prolific writer-director's most acclaimed late-period works, Blue Jasmine. While theatrical references are batted about to Chekhov, Shakespeare, O'Neill and the Greeks, this visually luscious, 1950s-set melodrama is mostly ersatz Tennessee Williams, this time around with Kate Winslet as the tragic Blanche DuBois stand-in. Her boldly unfettered performance keeps you watching, even if underlying sourness, tonal uncertainty and a key casting misstep diminish the effectiveness of this Amazon Studios release, likely cramping its box office. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/wonder-wheel-review-nyff-2017-1047865




Pictures about "Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel”"

Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel” - Photo of Five Cars Parked
Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel” - People in St. Peter's  Square
Influences on Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel” - Low angle of beautiful well maintained garden with palms and ancient building of Humayun s Tomb located in Delhi





Woody Allen on Avoiding Being Influenced by Others Work | The Dick Cavett Show




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Lgh_9, Jose Mueses, Pixabay, Hiyang Prem