Wonderland (1999)

7/10

Nikos-1224 May 2000

The city of London has featured in innumerable films - a vast, intensely varied metropolis, it has served as a vivid backdrop countless times. From the sun-drenched banks of the Thames in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' to the gloomy squalor of Camden Town in 'Withnail & I' it is always an interesting setting for a story. But in 'Wonderland', directed by Michael Winterbottom ('Jude', 'Welcome to Sarajevo'), it almost gains a life of its own.

Superficially a story of the day-to-day lives of three sisters, Wonderland is more about the city and the millions of people who live in it than the troubled family the plot centres on. They are Nadia (Gina McKee), a single woman desperately in search of friendship and romance, Debbie (Shirley Henderson), a single mother with a young son (Peter Marfleet) and Molly (Molly Parker), a pregnant woman whose husband (John Simm) is having doubts.

The camera follows them (mostly Nadia) as they travel through the busy streets of the capital. It does not concentrate on just the characters, often lingering on faces and groups, giving the film a real-life edge. This is added to by the hand-held camera work and the slightly grainy quality of the image, which is as though a much larger picture has been magnified to concentrate on these people.

The stories themselves are uniformly (and depressingly) realistic, although they all end on a high note, leaving the viewer surprisingly upbeat. Winterbottom has a knack of coaxing great performances from good actors and does not fail here, with the quietly miserable couple of Kika Markham and Jack Shepherd as the sisters' parents standing out.

Wonderland will never break any box office records and is certainly not flawless, but it is an admirable film and it warms the cockles of this reviewer to see such worthy films still being made in Britain.

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7/10

Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song (T.S.Eliot, The Wasteland)

khatcher-217 October 2003

Although not classified as a film for TV, `Wonderland' is very much in the style of a production for that media, and indeed might even be classified as `soap-opera'.

But forget anything and everything you have seen of that type of film: `Wonderland' is totally in another sphere, with a well-constructed story of a long-weekend, magnificently natural performances and excellent dialogues. One constantly thinks of the theatre playhouse element as the actors carry forward this sociological document, excellently choreographed by Michael Nyman´s music.

Here indeed is a richly rewarding 100-odd minutes of your time. The characters are immediate and thus so real that you cannot but fail to be swept into the story. Intertwining levels from the elderly couple, down through their daughters to the young grandson, all lends palpable reality to the price of living in the backdrops of a teeming faceless city.

Set over the weekend on which the ever faithful and conservative British continue celebrating `Guy Fawkes Night' commemorating the attempted blowing up of the Houses of Parliament by said Guido Fawkes a few centuries ago, the film cleverly brings together ordinary Londoners at a particular moment which undoubtedly is crucial to each of them. The cast is splendid; the performances are exactly right, natural, and thus so realistic; there is no forced over-the-top stuff here. Whereas I can easily sympathise with the symptomatic causes underlying the nonentity of suburban life in gigantic cities, and therefore can easily feel for these people in Winterbottom's very welcome offering in this film, I can so easily again see why, when barely twenty, I took to my heels and left London for other pastures.

Thanks for reminding me, Mr. Winterbottom. But thanks also for a fascinating insight into fine character-making in a very enjoyable film.

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7/10

Treading softly

jandesimpson23 July 2002

Every so often I am reminded of the inadvisability of rushing to judgement on a single viewing. Michael Winterbottom's "Wonderland" is a case in point. I got very little out of this first time round, in fact my reaction was positively antagonistic; characters seemingly as shallow as those in a currently popular BBC soap opera with a similar London setting, but here handled with that clumsy hand held camera cinema verite look, which for me is always a turn-off unless the material itself is brilliant - "The Dream Life of Angels" and "La Promesse" for instance. I suppose it was the rave comments of so many that drew me back for a second viewing. I can see now that the film has a lot going for it. As a study of unfulfilled lives it is never less than perceptive and is often quite touching, the boy at the football match, the childbirth scene, reactions to the son's answerphone message and the death of a dog where our sympathies suddenly shift from the tormented to the neighbours from hell. I can honestly say it is a film I have quite grown to like. Where I would part company with its devotees however is in my degree of admiration. It is certainly not to be compared with the best work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach mainly because it lacks their genius for character development. Unlike the characters in masterworks such as "Secrets and Lies" and "My Name is Joe", those in "Wonderland" are one-dimensional: we know all there is to know about them on their first appearance. And then there is that totally inappropriate score by Michael Nyman swamping scenes of everyday life with a spurious pseudo-classical muzak, banal lyrical lines accompanied by throbbing repeated chords. "Wonderland" would have benefited intrinsically from being without a score. In any case it is a classic example of a film needing to stand on its own feet without the prop of so called "luverly" music. Would it survive so well without in popular esteem is the question!

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Thank You Michael Winterbottom

Krustallos16 July 2003

I caught this on TV without knowing who it was by and I was instantly captivated. The first thing is that it's filmed and set where I live, around the Elephant and Castle, as well as in Soho, and it's about the people I see every day. It's absolutely spot on about the kind of lives people around here lead and the way individuals and different social groups interact.

What lifts it above the sort of social realism common in British cinema is the cutting, the cinematography and Michael Nyman's lovely music, which must be his best work post-Greenaway. While I've never been a big fan of the 'poetry of degradation' school of art, somehow the ugliness and squalor of South East London are transformed by this film and the lives of the characters are invested with real dignity.

Though it may deal with the same sort of subject matter as Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, the style and approach are very different - the difference between a great piece of prose and a poem. I guess you could say Winterbottom and Nyman do for London what Scorsese and Herrmann did for New York in Mean Streets and Taxi Driver.

This is a beautiful film and I feel real gratitude to Michael Winterbottom for bringing our lives to the screen in such a way.

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10/10

The Ordinary is Extraordinary

filsa16 November 1999

'Wonderland' is a story about ordinary people told in an extraordinarily beautiful way.

The visual style of the film draws you close--you're not watching a movie, but you are an observer, an eavesdropper on the lives of a South London family and their friends. It's almost as if you saw someone on the bus, and then were able to follow them to their home and around where they work, unseen, for a few days. You believe these people exist, in reality--you _recognize_ these characters because you've seen them before.

There's an incredible musical score by Michael Nyman. It supports and builds the drama of the story, and illuminates the inner struggles of the characters.

It's a beautiful movie. Fans of Wong Kar-Wai's ChungKing Express will enjoy this.

I saw this movie at a Saturday midnight showing in Barcelona, with Spanish subtitles. You could feel the emotion run through the audience. Everyone stayed for the credits.

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7/10

A Wonderfully Sublime Movie About Quiet Desperation

blakeh29 October 2001

There really are two parts to any movie. First, the obvious (plot, character development, setting, etc.) and second, that which is subtle... underlying. This film is filled with the latter. In fact, it would be a great disservice to the film to focus on just the plot without describing the feeling Winterbottom relays. On the surface, it's a film about three sisters and the very different choices they've made in their lives. The first, a single mom who pawns her son off to her anything-but-worthy ex-husband so she can go out and party. The second, a pregnant woman who's husband seems to be getting more and more spooked as the idea of a child coming into their home becomes closer to a reality. And finally, the youngest, a woman who simply longs to have someone -- anyone in her life. She takes to the personal ads and sleeping with men that will obviously not give her the emotional support she so desperately seeks.

Obviously, these women have all taken different paths in their lives. But it's not their paths that make the movie so interesting, it's their motivation. We need only look at the loveless marriage of the parents that begot these women to understand why they've all come to love and/or long for emotionally inaccessible men.

Winterbottom does a superb job of making us feel the grimy desperation in each of these women's lives. Cramped apartments give a sense of claustrophobia. The incessant barking of dogs begin to grate on not only the nerves of the characters, but on those of the audience as well. And throughout the movie, natural lighting is used giving us a sense that not all is polished and produced in the lives of the characters. All of these factors that have left the characters in the story with a quiet desperation, also pull the audience into a world of imbalance.

The score was absolutely brilliant -- one of the best matched soundtracks to a movie I've yet come across. Sublime at some points, triumphant at others, it was the final piece that made this film a joy to watch. Not because it makes you feel good... but simply because it makes you feel. Something. Real.

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10/10

Winterbottom's wonderful Wonderland

MAX-7816 February 2001

This may be the best film of 2000 (at least that's when it was released in Australia).

Whilst film-makers like P.T. Anderson have made admirable attempts at personal drama in the last few years, and Mike Leigh continues to tell us that no-one suffers like the poor (as if we didn't know that), Michael Winterbottom has re-defined the genres. This is English kitchen sink drama without the tired clichés of class wars, which have seemed a bit anachronistic since the fall of the Tories.

Shot in a stunning cinemascope (1:2.35) and available light, with the tiniest of crews, this is London as you've only seen it if you've seen it for yourself.

The cast shines. I defy anyone to make it through this film without falling in love with Gina McKee. That's not to say that Shirley Henderson and Molly Parker are anything less than charming. Ian Hart and Stuart Townsend are wonderful. Keep an eye out for the beautifully natural performance of David Fahm as Franklyn. Jack Shepherd, Kika Markham and John Simm round out the main cast with equally powerful performances.

A great script from first time screen-writer Lawrence Coriat. Michael Nyman turns out his most subtle and restrained music score yet. Michael Winterbottom is turning out to be the Stanley Kubrick of the 21st century. Who else has been able to jump from one genre to another with such ease and grace?

This is a compelling film, well worth having your own copy of.

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7/10

Mike Leigh Meets Blair Witch

cottrellpj4 September 2000

It's hard to concentrate on the many worthy aspects of this film (the naturalistic acting, unvarnished inner London) when trying to keep one's stomach settled. The hand-held camera thing is getting a little old (at least for me) and when combined with the arty fuzziness and the lousy print (Odeon Victoria) I couldn't enjoy this the way I should have. Great to see Canadian Molly Parker carrying off her role with aplomb, however, and Ian Hart remains as convincing as ever. In fact, every actor is superb. Think I'll try this on video on my 20" telly...

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9/10

Walking in Winterbottom's Wonderland

Keyser-Stanton11 August 2006

This movie has only just come out on DVD in Britain, that is a shamefully long time for a film to reach the country it was made in. But now it is here, and possibly finding a new audience, I thought I'd write a quick review. If you have read some of the other reviews, you will no doubt be aware of the 'kitchen sink' factor in this film. Well, I'm not going to deny that, the subject matter would not look out of place in a soap opera. . . .however it is the performances, the script and the fantastic style of this movie which pulls it out of the mundane and into the cinematic. Michael Winterbottom is clearly a director who like several of his British contemporaries such as Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows, believes that the drama around us in everyday life is worthy of the big screen. The film has a fine ensemble of characters, three very different sisters, their estranged brother and squabbling parents. The performances are brave and heartfelt in all cases, and even though the drama takes place over one weekend, the characters really do evolve. The most enticing thing about the film is the way it is shot and scored. Sean Bobbitt's time lapse photography and dogma style 16mm cinematography combined with Michael Nyman's emotive music is a really fantastic combination. This film shows London how the people who live there see it, namely from the ground. Nearly every film set in London now seems to have to include the Gherkin, the Tate modern and the Millennium wheel, what Winterbottom presents us with is something simultaneously far less and far more remarkable.

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6/10

Good music, London is great, the story is a bit cliche

mvanwegberg18 March 2001

This is the story of an elderly couple that are not on speaking terms, with their son (who has left the house for it) and three daughters. Its all about family relations. The family bond is not quite as strong as it used to be. People drift around a bit. The elderly woman Eileen looks down on her quiet, gentle husband Bill. Daughter Molly gets a baby and sees her husband Eddy run off. Daughter Debbie is divorced from the father Tim of her son. Tim takes the boy with him for a day, with near fatal consequences. Strong women and weak men, that´s very much the story here. The camera is a bit ´Danish´, like a videocamera, the film is grainy at times, as if this is a documentary of a real family, followed on its footsteps for three days. The film´s saving grace is the good music, and London which is the background of the movie. London is bigger than its people, it seems. There are so many opportunities there for another relationship, a sexual encounter, why stick to your partner...

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2/10

Not fun.

Apacherosepeacock7 January 2006

Seriously don't bother. If you're bored and looking for watch a film to fill in some time, don't make it this one. It might be alright if you're specifically looking to watch some pretentious pseudo verite bullsht. Maybe. The attempt to create realism through jerky hand-held camera work is distracting and enough to give you motion-sickness, the film-stock is grainy and unattractive, the characters are grating and impossible to empathize with and the music was craptastic. Everything about this film irritated me, from the over-used disjointed jump cuts to the ridiculously heavy-handed and out of place piano scoring, and the boring plot (and I hesitate to bestow 'plot' on the disjointed wreck that is Wonderland).

I also disliked Wonderland's recurring gimmicky motifs - eg. character's moment of reflection = fast motion + slow motion + shitty *emotive* piano music. (Quick! A character is thinking! Cue the piano music and stock city footage! My, how ironic it is that despite being in a city surrounded by people this character is so isolated. How *profound*. In fact, it's so profound, lets use it again!.... and again!.... and again!) I'm guessing Wonderland was an attempt to be an insightful meditation on the reality of the lives of a bunch of everyday people dealing with modern life or some crap like that. The problem with that is that real life is boring. So why bother to make a film of what people see everyday? Without offering any kind of different insight or narrative or point of difference to create ANY sort of interest AT ALL? What I did last week is as interesting as any one of Wonderland's inconsequential narratives. In fact if Wonderland's plot is what passes as film-worthy these days, I think I could make a living shitting out weekly screenplays of what I've done each week. It's cinema verite! It's art! It's genius! It's... totally boring. If you want real life boredom, turn off your TV and go talk to some real life vapid morons. At least that way you don't have to fork out for video rental.

Watching Wonderland is like going to a bad party - the music is bad, the people are boring, pretentious and unattractive, and while it's only a couple of hours until it's over, it seems like much, much, longer.

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9/10

wandering in sensitivity

merveillesxx5 November 2007

Warning: Spoilers

Yesterday, I just said I'm sick of stylish lonely film, but Wonderland forced me to reject my words. I love Wonderland in the same way with Lost in Translation. They may not a good film but their artistic styles touched my visibility and sensibility (accurately, I should write my SENSITIVITY). The cinematographic approaches (such as hi-speed, slow-motion and hand-held) were similar to Wong Kar-Wai's works. Many scenes in Wonderland can created a beautiful sight of London as well as an exotic look of Hong Kong in Wong's. (And also Tokyo's mysterious look in Stratosphere Girl.) The most fascinated element in this movie was its score composed by Michael Nyman. (He also wrote music for The Piano.) Every single piece of them can take my heart away. I like Nyman's bright idea to give each song as a theme song of one character. (Therefore, all track lists are character's names such as Debbie, Molly, etc.) Compare to Philip Glass (Who composed score in The Hours); I think both of them have something in common. They are clearly a minimalist musician, using few notes and play them in a loop. But their music are so powerful, I can listen to them repeatedly for a hundred times. Anyway, I have to give a big thank to my lovely sister, Vespertine, who introduced me to Wonderland's score.

My favorite scenes in Wonderland

1. Eddie (John Simm) stood on the bridge; he spoke the words he wanted to tell his wife to the air. It's like a rehearsal of tragedy stage play. He mentioned all horrible circumstances which may happen to his marriage life in the future. He will be a drunken, a jobless person. And he will imprison his wife and kids in the house, shoot them with a gun, and finally kill himself. (A story like this just happens to my high school friend, she is the only survivor.) It's unbearable if you know the bad things will explode, you want to cease them, but you can't. The only thing waiting for you is an irreversible disaster. (Anyway, I may too pessimistic for this scene because in the end Eddie and Molly can get along well.)

2. The scene Nadia (Gina McKee) went back home after she had sex with Tim (Stuart Townsend). She was on the bus, leaned on the windows, made a face that I can't describe, and then her tears poured from those sad eyes. I like Gina Mckee's face in this movie very much. It's like she always smiles but there's an obscure sadness on her face in the same time.

3. Jack (the boy) watched the firework alone and I think the music played in this scene was a climax for me.

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6/10

What you seek is right in front of you

Euphorbia20 September 2002

My rating meter dropped into negative numbers as this movie unfolded in the bleak anti-human landscape of a contemporary London that is eerily reminiscent of the imagined future Los Angeles of Blade Runner. The story, indeed the whole city, is populated by useless men aimlessly pursuing desperate clueless women, and with dysfunctional kin tormenting each other out of boredom, witlessness, or despair. All the performances are excellent, even though they seem wasted on this depressing and apparently pointless tale. But at the climax, in a deft turn of legerdemain, the director neatly and almost plausibly unsnarls most of the skeins he had been tangling and twisting up until then, boosting the movie to a 6/10 (which to me means worth watching once, if you have nothing better to do, but definitely not worth watching twice).

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4/10

Ugly and Tedious

BNester11 April 2017

One of the ugliest-looking films ever, "Wonderland" (the title is ironic) looks like it was filmed through an early mobile phone camera: very grainy with colours so washed out they look like monochrome, especially the exterior shots. Passage of time is indicated by speeded-up montages of car headlights at night. You soon wish they had speeded it up a lot more.

The film follows the lives of a group of working-class Londoners, mainly three girls and an older couple, and some of their acquaintances. By the end you realize that two of the girls are sisters, daughters of the couple. Only by reading reviews did I learn that all three are supposed to be sisters: their accents differed slightly, which should not have happened with sisters. One is a hairdresser with a 10-year-old son, one is single and looking, one is pregnant. The single sister wears her hair in a very ugly Minnie Mouse hairdo, surprising for the sister of a hairdresser.

Their men are losers, liars, alcoholics, or all three. The most sympathetic man is the father, but he is despised by his dour unforgiving vicious wife, who calls him "pathetic".

"Wonderland" goes on and on, one noisy crowded incident after another, leaving you wondering who the people are and how they connect with each other. It's very tedious.

The music is boring and unrelenting, mainly variations of "We Are The Champions". I suppose this, too, is meant to be ironic.

The best scene is when the pregnant sister gives birth, screaming and crying. It's well done, but not good enough to redeem the film.

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the best damn tear-jerker ever made!

littlesiddie23 March 2002

This film hit home and touched me so deeply on a personal level, its not even funny. And I believe it should have a fairly wide appeal, as well. The main limiting factor is that it may only be fully appreciated by Britons and anglophiles. There are so many specifics of daily working class London life, and the accents are slightly thick, that non-Britons may not be able to connect.

I read a review of this film in the Village Voice (it was very positive, and I rented the title on the strength of the recommendation) and one of the things it said was that this film didn't avert its eyes from the ugly things in life. And that is exactly what give this film is weight and poignancy.

This film even manages to capture one of the most difficult (and therefore least often seen, in films) aspects of modern working class life: the mind numbing crassness, tedium and insignificance. And at the same time, it manages to give dignity to these people's lives and gives them hope for finding threads of meaning in the garbage heap of modern life. The thought that came most forcefully to me at the end of this film was: how many years of suffering do the working class have to endure before their lives are portrayed with dignity and meaning?

One thing about this film that is consistently downbeat, and that the film maker had the good sense not to try and sugar coat, is the awful over crowding in modern Britain. This aspect is truly horrific, suffocating and overwhelming. And maybe this is the most topsy-turvy aspect of this film, that modern Britons are expected to endure this with good grace, but I don't know, I can't say.

The music is lovely as well, very well chosen, very understated. And its all in a minor key, of course.

Its films like this that re-affirm my faith in film as an artistic medium. But, although this film gives a sweet dignity to the recent past, it doesn't seem to hold out any real hope for the future. And it is this sidestepping of facile hopefulness where this movie really hits the deepest. This film says, in my opinion, that any progress towards a livable future is going to take everything we have to struggle to achieve.

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8/10

Four Days of the Dramatic Life of a Londoner Family

claudio_carvalho28 August 2004

Along four days in London, the dramatic life of the three sisters, their absent brother, parents, lovers and friends is disclosed in `Wonderland'. Debbie (Shirley Henderson), Nadia (Gina McKee) and Molly (the lovely Molly Parker) are sisters of a low middle class family in London. The hairdresser Debbie is the mother of an young boy. Nadia is a lonely woman, who works in a cafeteria, and is trying to find a love through the Lonely Hearts agency, specialized in blind dates. Molly is a pregnant teacher, who is close to the delivery. Nadia misses her brother Darren (Enzo Cilenti), who left London due to some problem with his bitter mother Eileen (Kika Markham), a very frustrated woman. Aileen and her husband Bill (Jack Shepard) are disillusioned with their lives. Bill is so bored with his life that he seems to be astonished, in the expectation of a call from his son Darren, like a salvation board for the situation of his common life with Eileen. Nadia has a blind date with Tim (Stuart Townsend) and feels a kind of non-corresponded love for him. Debbie has a promiscuous and well-resolved sexual life. Molly's mate is Eddie (John Simm), a man frustrated with his work and profession, and without enough courage to confess to Molly that he lost his job. The story is unfolded in a fragmented way, and in the ends, all the pieces are joined together, with characters and situations very well defined. Michael Winterbottom is a fantastic director. I have seen `Jude', `Welcome to Sarajevo', `I Want You' and now `Wonderland' and they are great films. `Butterfly Kiss' is the weakest I have watched. Unfortunately I have not seen the other movies of his filmography yet and I am not sure whether they are available in Brazil. Molly Parker is an amazing actress: in one movie, she is a pregnant woman feeling the pain of the birth, in `The Center of the World' she is very sexy, showing a great versatility in acting. The natural performance of the cast is also outstanding, making the story very real and credible. The `Minnie' hair of Nadia is the only negative point of this wonderful movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Encontros e Desencontros' (`Meetings and Failure to Meet')

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6/10

Interesting, but not *that* good

ian_harris23 July 2002

This was an interesting movie, but judging by most of the comments logged on this site, you'd want to rush out and buy the studio, not just the DVD. Well it's not *that* good.

The style is very reminiscent of London fringe stage drama of the "ultra-realistic" genre. On the stage, this style works better as the audience feels intensely part of the drama. On the screen, the style works occasionally, but not throughout.

The jerkiness of the hand-held camera technique does not have a realistic impact on this reviewer - rather it acts as a constant reminder that one is watching film rather than life. Only in the "non-chamber" scenes do we benefit from the use of film rather than stage for this piece.

The subject matter and locations remind one of Poliakoff, but in my view Poliakoff usually does this stuff much better. You feel that the characters in this movie have more to them than their drab lives reveal, but (unlike in a Poliakoff) none of them has sufficient get up and go to try to change anything about their lives. The result is that the film goes nowhere. Admittedly it goes nowhere elegantly, well-acted, in parts movingly, but it is still nowhere.

Real talent on show - would love to see similar cast and same director working with a more interesting script. Would someone please sponsor them a couple of tripods for their next attempt.

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8/10

Near-perfect snapshot of the new urban working class

zenboy62713 October 2019

Unlike Peter Berg's polished, Mark Wahlberg-heavy attempts at addressing/glorifying working class issues in Hollywood, "Wonderland" sets a standard that seems to be all but forgotten. Grainy cinema-verite that finds art in the gilded grime in the innards of late-90s London, Michael Winterbottom manages to bring out subtle and nuanced performances out of his cast, all whilst keeping one eye constantly trained on the poetry of the camera. Startlingly frank but never rising to shrill sophistry, it stays at the surface like a passerby, taking snapshots of a way of life that is as immediately relevant now as it was 20 years ago.

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7/10

could have been fleshed out a little more, but still good

Embley22 August 2000

i quite enjoyed this film. the only problem i had with it was that i wanted to see more of gina mckee's character explored - i think all the characters were spread a little thin and it could have been better if there was more focus to fewer characters. mckee was the highlight of the film (she often is) and her storyline was especially good.

overall i thought the family dynamics were great - in a horrifying way. the parents were terribly distressing. i found the brother storyline slightly confusing and unnecessary. i would like to have known more about him or nothing at all.

anyway, i thought it was a decent film, worth seeing by all means.

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8/10

Wonderland

MartinTeller30 December 2011

Structurally, I was reminded a lot of THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN. Loose vignettes about three sisters (and a brother who's kind of on the periphery) and their relationship issues. But of course, it's set in London and Winterbottom goes for a very different style than Tran's languid rhythms. The film is grainy, mostly hand-held that gives it a voyeuristic and often claustrophobic feel, which is occasionally punctured by some stylistic flourish like slo-mo. The visuals are actually a bit off-putting at times but sometimes it's to highlight the loneliness or ugliness of life.

However, the film doesn't wallow in misery. There are highs and lows... some characters are better at dealing with problems than others, but everyone muddles through and tries to find their balance. Some do despicable things and we're not asked to forgive them, but we are asked to realize that there's more to them. By the end, there is a sense of contentment despite the knowledge that not all problems are solved, and new ones will surely arise.

The three central performances are quite good, although naturally I would have liked to see more of Shirley Henderson. I couldn't find fault in any of the other actors, either. Winterbottom also lets the camera wander, including strangers and passersby in the mix, any one of whom could be a connection to our protagonists. Indeed, it's a while before we're fully aware of who the protagonists are and their relationships to each other. It's a bit frustrating at first before you have your footing, but it's a reminder that any of these people and their stories are equally significant. I should also mention Michael Nyman's glorious score as well as the skillful use of diegetic music.

I was generally engaged throughout the film, although I wish there had been a few more transcendent scenes where it really clicked with me. Nonetheless, it's an excellent movie that explores our inner turmoil, need for connections, and precious moments of joy.

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7/10

Realistic to Romantic

Ell-422 October 2000

In a sordid setting, the plot unfolds with a Contemporary feeling of British realism. Failure of relationships and family emerge in an Inner City environment. Suddenly the characters relate in a humanistic fashion. Though slightly contrived, we begin to accept to the message of the film. Brilliance of movement and color are stated and warmth and understanding are born. With a tear, we face sensitive and tentative feelings with the intent of the film, "Wonderland."

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4/10

A thrilled film about vulgar people

Salitre18 October 2004

I must say I understand Mr Winterbottom. I understand him, but don't share his feelings. He must think it's such a wonder that so many people living one around others don't know what to do to their lives. This is what this film speaks about. Normal people, even vulgar people, who don't know how to face their problems. It's some kind of kaleidoscope of the vulgar man. I suppose Mr Winterbottom finds it somewhat moving, but the question you should ask to yourself before seeing this movie is: do I want to simply get moved seeing poor people? (intellectually poor, I mean. The fact that they have more or less money is unimportant) If the answer is yes, perhaps this will be a good film, but forget about obtaining nothing more from it, because its characters haven't got nothing for you; in fact, they haven't enough for themselves. For me, this film has nothing but a "documentary interest", but probably the best you could do is see it and decide.

In addition, the movie is intentionally style-less in its shooting. The music (by Michael Nyman) is the only talented detail.

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9/10

"Walking in a Winterbottom wonderland."

morrison-dylan-fan30 November 2018

Warning: Spoilers

On the IMDb boards, I recently discussed with a fellow poster the excellent 24 Hour Party People film by auteur Michael Winterbottom. Checking a local DVD shop a few days ago,I spotted a title which I had heard about years ago, which led to me entering Winterbottom's Wonderland.

View on the film:

For the last film to be produced by Polygram, and one of two movies he made in 1999, (the other being With or Without You) directing auteur Michael Winterbottom & cinematographer Sean Bobbitt continue building on the grainy "Kitchen-Sink" motifs of Winterbottom's work, and (unintentionally) present a fitting tribute to the indie spirit of Polygram.

Filmed away from the landmarks on the streets of London, Winterbottom and Bobbitt thread the criss-crossing stories with a "fly on the wall" atmosphere which follows the characters around in grainy 16mm hand-held cameras, (with Winterbottom straying the camera to random members of the public in wide-shots, creating the impression that "their story" could be the next followed.)

Winterbottom starkly enters their lives with a stripped-down, earthy atmosphere of a sex scene filmed with no background music, natural light and not even a boom mic used, (a preview of what was to come with Winterbottom's 9 Songs (2004) ) and the cafe where Nadia works being filled with the sounds of real customers.

Expanding on the contrasting lo-fi "Kitchen-Sink" and the digital stylisation which runs across his credits, with stylish time lapse photography becoming increasingly overlapping as the separate tales cross each-other, startling close-ups on the sisters when facing the aftermath of devastating hardship, and Michael Nyman's excellent, mournful, ticking clock score.

The first of two collaborations with Winterbottom (the other being Genova (2008)) the screenplay by debut writer Laurence Coriat draws up considerate slices of life across a long Guy Fawkes Night weekend tracking Nadia, Debbie,Molly and Eileen with their fractured family lives.

Working both as individual stories and as a wider collage, Coriat rubs open moments that at first appear small in their lives (Nadia's unsatisfactory dates, Eileen's announce at the neighbours dog) which gradually become the dominate factor/focus in their lives, as each attempt made to resolving the problems, causes fallout which bring their lives closer together.

Opening this Wonderland up, Gina McKee gives an incredibly raw performance as shy Nadia, whose optimistic smile McKee breaks when Nadia is in private. Under pressure of job loss and a pregnancy,John Simm and Molly Parker give great performances as couple Molly and Eddie, thanks to Parker and Simm tugging at their partners doubts and vulnerability when travelling in this Wonderland.

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7/10

The Lives of Lonely Londoners!

Sylviastel16 July 2015

London, England is a great city to visit and live but it can be a lonely place. Jack and Eileen are a middle aged couple with three adult daughters. Nadia is trying to find a man. Molly is pregnant and married. Debbie is a single mother. This character drama can be entertaining to watch especially veteran actors like Jack Shepherd and Kika Markham as parents. Gina McKee does a terrific job as Nadia. London is a very big city and the director makes the most of it. This film takes place during one weekend. It can be slow moving at times. Nadia, Molly, and Debbie don't appear happy in life neither do their parents.

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4/10

Dysfunctional, selfish family members try to survive.

TAD-1518 August 2000

I have never been so depressed in my life. The movie tells the story of a family--a very dysfunctional family. The type of family that you actually pray for a happy ending to the movie. At the end of the movie, things seem to look up as they move on with their lives, but I just have a feeling that Jack will become a juvenile delinquent, Alice's parents will be so self-absorbed her future will be dismal. The only ones with a possibility of a future without a lifetime of pain is Franklin & Nardia. I can see how some people will appreciate the pain of everyday life...but this was just too much to bear!

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