THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN comes from the brains of co-writer/director/producer Joseph Badon and co-writer Jason Kruppa. Right off the bat, before diving into the film, a few things about THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN immediately caught my eye. The poster art, in homage to 90s Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book covers, stood out. As did the promo blurb: “ A woman caught up in predatory relationships is thrown into a multi-layered world of choices after she discovers a mystical book in a thrift store.” What a great premise!
But here’s where it starts to unravel because I mean, yes? I suppose that’s what it’s about, as much as saying, “In Jaws, Chief Brody goes on a boat to face his fear of water.” It’s technically true, but there’s an awful lot that’s missing or carefully omitted.
THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN is a surrealist comedy/sci-fi/horror film, composed of small parts presented like shorts, as shown on a public access television station, that comes together to form one movie. It feels a bit like you’re watching an obscure web series stitched together or binging the whole thing in one sitting. In some ways, that works, and in other ways, it doesn’t. But before we get into all that, what is it really about?
The story is set around many different characters, all of whom are portrayed by Kali Russell, including her meta-self. The many characters she plays are one soul moving through space, time, and genres to achieve her own destiny and freedom.
It’s a lot to take in. If you’re sensitive to flashing lights and a lot of film clips being spliced together in rapid succession, THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN may not be the film for you. You’ll probably know within the first few minutes if the movie is right for you, as the beginning has the director Joseph Badon being “interviewed,” admitting that even the star Kali Russell doesn’t understand the film and how people either love it or hate it.
As meta as that is, THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN breaks the fourth wall so constantly that the actors are also the characters, sometimes sharing the same scene as the characters that they’re portraying. It blurs the lines between what is real and what is fiction. There are realms within realms of “this represents that,” being explained to us in stage directions and voice-overs. It’s jumbled and chaotically messy…but not that bad. It is enjoyable as it progresses, or maybe I just have a higher litmus for surrealist comedy.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. The sound design and mixing of each segment, Daniel Waghorne‘s cinematography, Maura Lindsey‘s set design, and the costuming were all spot-on and immaculate. All of these were steeped in nostalgia to create a sense of familiarity, all while adding a subverted, even perverted, underbelly of our memories. Each set, wardrobe, and makeup change conjures Russell and Jeff Pearson’s characters in different shades and textures, from greasy to cheesy to pristine.
And speaking of Jeff Pearson, he’s fantastic in THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN, playing his antagonists so precisely, easing between humor and darkness so effortlessly. Frankly, all of the actors were great. They made the absurdity somehow believable and raw, which is needed in the type of kaleidoscope of a film like THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN. It’s hard to have moments like Elvis Breastly miming guitar with cleavage on full display while Purity is in danger with Mr. Universe (Pearson) without some solid performances. The acting is tight enough to instill an overwhelming sense of dread mixed in with cacophonous humor.
And no one does that better than Kali Russell. She needs awards. Gobs of them. Pile them on as she portrays an artist, a Janeway-esque starship captain, a mechanic, a mother, and an everyday woman looking for her way in life. Oh, and again, as herself. She portrays all of them so seamlessly. Aided by Faye Graham’s makeup talents, the characters all feel like different people. She makes you believe with her performance, even as herself, especially in one scene where she’s nearly possessed with Badon’s own words coming out of her mouth.
But, let’s flip the coin. THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE is very much told from one perspective. It’s a story of retribution and empowerment for women…as told by a dude. Yeah, yeah, boo and hiss. But it’s worth mentioning as there are so many tales of “retribution and female empowerment” being scripted and directed by men. This is true, especially in horror, particularly in rape and vengeance tales like I Spit on Your Grave (1-4), Last House on the Left, the remake of Carnival of Souls, etc.
It’s not the first time and won’t be the last time; however, there’s an interesting bit in THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN that did strike me as different. In the middle of the film, Badon casts himself as an antagonist.
There’s a part that plays a few times as Russell portrays herself as having an issue with a scripted date-r*pe scene with Mr. Universe. In the scenes, director Joseph Badon struggles with her reluctance saying things like, “You read the script. You knew it was coming,” or “You signed the contract.” Later, he’s heard “confessing” to another worker on the film how much of a pain she’s being about the scene and how she probably “has past trauma.” The tone is cold. Dismissive. Irritated and unamused. And the director in an openly villainous role to prove a point is pretty intriguing.
However, when she has her possession scene while leaving a message, she’s right; it’s his words coming out of her mouth. No matter how much she’s trying to have her own voice, it will be his call as director if the scene will be left in and what she’s doing will make the final cut. She has limited agency. As an actor, as a woman, as every character she’s portraying.
It reminded me towards the beginning when she said that she didn’t understand the film and what it was about. He asks, “What do you think it’s about?” But it’s not her film. It’s not her words, even her meta-self is an illusion for the audience. And if the point is that patriarchy is always present and free will regardless of its form is an illusion, then…okay, that’s a bummer. I think the film is meant to be empowering for women, but at the core at the crux of the issue, it’s still written and directed by a man.
The flip side of that is the logic that most men are predators, in one way or another, but that also doesn’t settle right with me. And maybe I’m reading too much into THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN or not enough, and that’s the chaotic focus of the film. We will never fully see or understand Joseph Badon’s and Jason Kruppa’s direct vision because it’s up to interpretation. Each person will probably see something a little different.
THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN is never quite as funny as “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson” or “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace,” but it’s not as dark as “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.” It has more heart than “Three Busy Debras” and more questions than “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” THE WHEEL OF HEAVEN is less a choose-your-own-adventure, but more of a wild ride with puppets, claymation dinosaurs, 8-bit graphics, strange cults, and (my favorite) a skateboarding lawyer. If you choose to take a peek, I wonder what you, too, will discover.
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