I was astounded by how well Badon kept a linear storyline through a non-linear faux anthology of shorts. Several self-referential scenes of the filmmakers at work seem obvious at first until they start churning up even more mystery. He also includes a controversial amount of Christmas themes into The Wheel Of Heaven. Purity almost running into her doppelgänger in a Santa outfit on a dark road is made more striking by being shot in black and white with the Santa hat in red.
“…the director put trace holiday ingredients in the mix…”
However, the Yuletide portion of the film is maybe 25% at best. So, is this a Christmas title? I think the director put trace holiday ingredients in the mix to spark such a debate, which is a glorious way to draw attention. It has enough Christmas to ensure it will find its way to your holiday table, yet not enough to be gulaged from viewing for the rest of the year.
Russell fits her role like a glove, as she knows how to ride all 100 rodeos thrown at her. Her talent runs a spectrum from authentic Boston Southie to starship captain and back. The complexity of her performance matches the density of the storyline, both of which are communicated fantastically into the sweet spot of your brain. Badon has built a feature as mystifying as Holy Mountain on a fraction of the budget by trading in optical splendor for surreal storyline architecture. The Wheel Of Heaven is a tremendous cult movie and possibly the best WTF production made yet.
"…possibly the best WTF production made yet."
