Venetia, Raul and I went last night to see the new Woody Allen movie, Wonder Wheel. It was at Cine Lorca, one of the many movie and live theatres on Avenida Corrientes. I love the street, as it has a great vibe.

It’s kind of an interesting experience to watch a movie in English with Spanish sub-titles — it’s usually the other way around.

I quite enjoyed the movie, but I didn’t love it. Visually, it was wonderful. Set in the 1950s on Coney Island, the background of the amusement park on the beach seemed to me to be an authentic representation of time and place. Although the movie had Woody Allen written all over it, there were also lots of places where Tenessee Williams peeked through, particularly a scene near the end that strongly evoked A Streetcar Named Desire.

The acting, I thought, was a mixed bag. Jim Belushi and Kate Winslet turned in credible performances, but I couldn’t make up my mind about Justin Timberlake. Was he playing a guy who was not very bright, or was it bad acting? I don’t know.

It did occur to me several times throughout the movie — and Venetia and Raul both agreed — that they sometimes looked as if they were acting on a stage instead of in a movie. That may have been intentional on Woody Allen’s part, as he does tend to have these quirky ideas.

I’m used to Woody Allen’s comedies, which I usually like, but this was dark and very different.

Worth the night out — but I enjoyed the wine and cheese with my friends after the movie better!