Film review: ‘WONKA’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
The aroma of chocolate filled the air as an eager Sunday morning preview audience filed into the Rivoli cinema for a screening of Wonka a mostly fun, good natured but thinly-plotted musical origin story for the mercurial chocolate maestro Willy Wonka.
This is not an adaptation of any specific work by author Roald Dahl whose 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory introduced us to the world of Mr Wonka. It’s the brainchild of Paul King (Paddington) who directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby (who co-wrote Paddington 2).
Any Wonka film has big shoes to fill. The 1971 cinema adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder as the maniacal chocolatier is a fantasy/comedy classic that mixed remarkable visual invention with smart satire and dark observations about human nature. Tim Burton’s CGI-heavy 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp had some impressive moments but failed to recapture the earlier film’s magic.
The new film sees a young, wide-eyed but poverty-stricken Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) arrive in a generic 19th century-looking European city and attempt to establish himself as a chocolate maker. Unfortunately, he falls foul of the sinister local chocolate cartel composed of the notorious Mr Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton). Wonka must call on his remarkable MacGyver-like inventiveness to save his dream of bringing exotic chocolate treats to the masses. He’s aided in his quest by new found buddies who include orphan girl Noodle (Calah Lane) and accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter, yes Mr Carson from Downton Abbey)
While it functions as a prequel to the previous Wonka offerings, the story is really just a device on which to hang some sight gags and musical numbers. Some of the gags work well enough to have parents chortling and a few, in which adults are hurt or look silly, have the youngsters cackling evilly.
Apart from a rendition of the 1971 film’s signature tune ‘pure imagination’, the musical numbers here are pretty bland and lack memorable melodies.
Chalamet, though, with his lithe floppy-haired charisma, is a good choice for this version of Wonka. He doesn’t have the unhinged borderline crazy quality of Gene Wilder or any of the giggling creepiness of Johnny Depp’s version but he’s not supposed to be threatening in this film. He’s meant to be more of a goofy boyish hero and he does that very well although his singing is a little thin.
The film also features contributions from an impressive roster of British actors. As was heavily featured in the trailer for this film, Hugh Grant plays a snooty, mischievous, thieving Oompa Loompa. Grant does his usual droll brit routine which is a little familiar but likeable enough. There are also some amusing contributions from Olivia Coleman as a vile, conniving innkeeper who basically enslaves Wonka and his friends and Rowan Atkinson as a corrupt, chocolate gobbling priest.
The film has some visually impressive moments with ornate designs and bursts of colour but so much of this movie is CGI that it often lacks a sense physicality.
Wonka is a likeable mix of quirky humour, folksy values, a few inventive visuals and some sprightly performances but unlike the 1971 movie, it probably won’t become the beloved film on which audiences will gorge themselves in years to come.
Nick’s rating: ***
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Fantasy/ Comedy.
Classification: PG.
Director(s): Paul King.
Release date: 14th Dec 2023.
Running time: 116 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.