Film Review: Wonka

 

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

I enjoy Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  I think it has some truly interesting moments, particularly the amazing performance by Gene Wilder.  Having said that, I am not one who who is slavishly devoted to the film the way some are.  So when they announced a prequel movie, I was somewhat interested.

Wonka follows our hero Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) as he comes to the big city to make his name as a magical chocolatier.  However he is met with several obstacles.  There is a monopoly of chocolate sellsers led by Slugworth (Patterson Joseph) who won't let Wonka sell his chocolate.  To make matters worse, Wonka is tricked into indentured servitude to Mrs. Scribitt (Olivia Coleman) where he toils away with other poor souls like the young girl Noodle (Calah Lane).  On top of this, there is a mysterious orange man (Hugh Grant) who keeps stealing his chocolate.  But through it all, Wonka has an indefatigable spirit and continues to dream of creating the greatest chocolate store the world has ever seen.

I will say that the best part of this movie is Chalamet.  I'm used to seeing him play serious and dour characters.  It was such a surprise and a delight to see him pop with charm and charisma.  He has all the liveliness of Harold Hill but without the cynicism.  Because of him, you buy into the happier world he sees, which cuts through the cynical fog.  He and Grant have such a great chemistry that it is a shame that they don't have more scenes with them.  

Director Paul King also has created a visually fun experience.  He makes the drabness of the ordinary world so tangibly dirty and dusty that when the color of Wonka's world bursts through, it feels like a treat.  

The rest of the performances are serviceable.  The performances are in the style of the "children's movie," where they characters are overly broad and showy.  It isn't to say that the actors do a bad job.  But it is a style of performance that isn't to my tastes.  Children should enjoy the cartoonish way the characters present themselves, but I found it just a touch grating.

Like the performances, the music is decent, but nothing memorable.  I think that if the film makers had taken just a little more time to develop the music, this movie could have been a much bigger hit.  The only original song I remember from Wonka  is one called "Scrub, Scrub."  And that song is just a process song that isn't very enjoyable.  Compare this to The Greatest Showman, where almost every single song in that film is outstanding.  Music is a shortcut to character and emotion.  With a better catalogue of songs, it could greatly increased its emotional impact.

The writing has an innocent charm.  There is a gag involving a telephone call that had me laughing out loud unexpectedly.  But there are some tender moments, including the backstory of Wonka and his mother (Sally Hawkins).  This creates the emotional backbone that holds most of the silliness together into a coherent story.

My biggest complaint of the film is that it strangely anti-clerical.  Rowan Atkinson plays a corrupt priest who is helping the villains.  In fact, the entrance to the lair is through the confessional.  Generally I would find this a mild annoyance.  But the fact that this movie is geared towards children made this more a problem.  As an adult, I am able to understand the sinfully human elements of God's ministers.  But it bothers me that a child might see this and associate elements of the faith with something wicked and corrupt.  This is especially the case because it seems so unnecessary.  It is true we also see corrupt police officers, but we also see heroic ones to root for.  This is not the case with the clergy in this film.

Wonka is a decent film and not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.  But like snacking on a candy bar, once it is over, very little of it is going to linger.