Wonderland (1999)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writer:

Laurence Coriat (writer)

Release Date:

21 August 1999 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Everybody's looking for something.

Plot:

There's little wonder in the working-class lives of Bill, Eileen, and their three grown daughters. They're lonely Londoners...

Plot Keywords:

Working Class | Guy Fawkes Day | Marital Relations | Contact Ad | Family Relationships

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Shirley Henderson	...	Debbie
Gina McKee	...	Nadia
Molly Parker	...	Molly
Ian Hart	...	Dan
John Simm	...	Eddie
Stuart Townsend	...	Tim
Kika Markham	...	Eileen
Jack Shepherd	...	Bill
Enzo Cilenti	...	Darren
Sarah-Jane Potts	...	Melanie
David Fahm	...	Franklyn
Ellen Thomas	...	Donna
Peter Marfleet	...	Jack
Nathan Constance	...	Alex
Anton Saunders	...	Danny

Also Known As:

Snarl Up (UK) (working title)
Untitled Love Story (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | New Zealand:M | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

References Elizabeth (1998)

Soundtrack:

Happy Together

Beautiful and intelligent

Easily the best British film for several months. Winterbottom sees the London which all who live here know and love through a barely-distanced eye. We move with the characters, we live alongside them, the film brings them an immediacy and relevance which mainstream cinema rarely tackles. The plot (what little there is) contains more drama - not to mention coincidences - than real life, but this is compensated for by the film's texture, moving from warm to cold and back again, depending on the scene and its location. Nyman's score veers between irritating and deeply moving, approaching its best in the fireworks sequence. The Dogme-style technique is less annoying than in its Danish counterparts (Winterbottom doesn't seem to have so much trouble staying in focus). Odd to think this script was written by a Frenchwoman. Hey ho.