Themes: Family Gatherings, Sibling Relationships, Expecting a Baby
Main Cast: Shirley Henderson, Gina McKee, Molly Parker, Ian Hart, John Simm
Release Year: 1999
Country: UK
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The members of a British working-class family see their lives starting to come apart as the Nation prepares to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day (named for an anarchist who tried to blow up Parliament) in Michael Winterbottom's drama Wonderland. Eileen (Kika Markham) and Bill (Jack Shepherd) are a married couple with four grown children. Bill has lost his job and is drifting through life, unsure of what to do. He's also having sexual problems with Eileen, who is being driven insane by their noisy neighbors. Neither Bill nor Eileen have seen their son Darren (Enzo Cilenti) for a long time, and his birthday is a heartbreaking experience for them. (Darren, on the other hand, would prefer to celebrate his birthday by spending the night in a hotel with his girlfriend rather than seeing his parents.) Bill and Eileen also have three daughters, Nadia (Gina McKee), Debbie (Shirley Henderson) and Molly (Molly Parker). Nadia works in a cafe and has trouble meeting men; she's signed up with a dating agency, but has yet to meet anyone she likes. Debbie is suddenly a single mother after separating from her drunken lout of a husband. Debbie drowns her sorrows in a series of meaningless one-night-stands, while her husband flies into uncontrollable rages and their son is left with no one to turn to on either side. And while Molly's story seems happy on the surface -- she's soon to give birth to her first child and her husband has done well in kitchen sales -- she's suddenly thrown into instability when she finds her husband has quit his job, without telling her, to follow his dream of becoming a chef. Wonderland received enthusiastic reviews for its ensemble cast when shown at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Adding to his repertoire as one of the most eclectic British directors working at the turn of the century, Michael Winterbottom takes a successful stab at Robert Altman territory with this multi-layered tale of various malcontents in modern-day suburban London. Bearing a conflict-packed storyline and a drab, hand-held 16mm look, Wonderland's view of modern-day fears, tensions, and romantic angst is resolutely dour, but Winterbottom and his talented stable of performers are able to convey a sense of hope in the film's final act. The reliable Gina McKee brings warmth and depth to what could have been a stock characterization of a frustrated single woman; less successful is Molly Parker as a harried mother-to-be who's unbelievably furious at her husband's recent job loss. Wonderland bears more than a passing resemblance to Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth (1997), but where Oldman painted a portrait of a family trapped in an endless cycle of misery, Winterbottom suggests -- convincingly, more often than not -- that his characters aren't doomed to repeat their mistakes. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
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
Credit
Gina Carter - Co-producer, Nick Laws - First Assistant Director, Michael Winterbottom - Director, Trevor Waite - Editor, David M. Thompson - Executive Producer, Stewart Till - Executive Producer, Michael Nyman - Composer (Music Score), Mark Tildesley - Production Designer, Andrew Eaton - Producer, Michele Camarada - Producer, Richard Flynn - Sound/Sound Designer
Forget About Me (1990) ·Love Lies Bleeding (1993) ·Under the Sun (1994) ·Butterfly Kiss (1995) ·Go Now (1995) ·Jude (1996) ·Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) ·I Want You (1998) ·With or Without You (1999) ·Wonderland (1999)
