Young Willy Wonka arrives in town after a long journey during which he has learnt all the secrets and tricks of making the best chocolate in the world. But from the start, the chocolatier’s cartel prevents him from selling his delicacies, and to make things worse, Willy ends up practically enslaved to a cheating innkeeper. But the boy doesn’t lose heart, and thanks to his talent and the help of new friends, he manages to realise his dream.
The idea of an origin story of Willy Wonka, the character born from Roal Dahl’s imagination, was intriguing.
Realised by a creative director like Paul King, author of the Paddington diptych, it becomes even more enjoyable. And indeed, Wonka is a very well-made film, a musical applied to a narrative structure for young and old.
Wonders and good feelings go hand in hand with a simple yet fierce critique of the very foundations of capitalism. Big corporations teaming up to crush small businesses and creativity are evil; Wonka is a dreamer on a par with a Coppolian Tucker.
Paul King loves classic movies.
He manages to blend all these elements skilfully, indulging in a few homages (Singing in the Rain, to name but one) and relying on his protagonist. Timothée Chalamet is practically perfect, a young actor from another era who sings, dances and acts with a not inconsiderable range of variation. He knows the timing of comedy and the strings of melodrama; he knows how to use his body and voice, all things not taken for granted in contemporary cinema. At his side is a great cast that supports him and which he also knows how to lean on when it is unnecessary to fill the screen with his presence.
Great intelligence, his and Paul King’s, who confirms himself as a visionary director and healthy bearer of a genre that the film industry has misunderstood over the years, convinced that family movies should have followed the evolution of society.
Wrong: the important thing is always how to tell a story on screen properly.
King amply demonstrated his ability to do so in the diptych starring the teddy bear having tea with Queen Elizabeth.
Sumptuous sets, flamboyant photography, magnificent costumes, perfect editing, and a remarkable score by Joby Talbot. With the bonus of Hugh Grant singing and dancing Oompa Loompa and good sentiments, Wonka will become a holiday classic to be watched while sipping an excellent hot chocolate.