Film Pick of the Week: Wonka - review by Yvette Huddleston
Wonka Prime Video, review by Yvette Huddleston
Roald Dahl’s classic story gets a 21st century movie makeover directed by Paul King who also co-wrote the script with actor Simon Farnaby, whose writing pedigree includes Horrible Histories, Ghosts and Paddington 2.
This is a kind of origin story, exploring how Wonka became the eccentric millionaire chocolatier that we all know from Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It stars Timothée Chalamet as the young Wonka, an orphan who after seven years at sea goes to the big city to seek his fortune making chocolate, a skill he learnt from his late mother (Sally Hawkins). His first stop is the prestigious Galéries Gourmet where he dreams of opening a chocolate shop. He quickly charms the locals with his delicious chocolates, magic tricks and inventions.
However, there are some obstacles to overcome, not least businessmen Arthur Slugworth, Gerald Prodnose and Felix Fickelgruber – Paterson Jospeh, Matt Lucas and Matthew Baynton, respectively. They have lots of fun as the villains of the piece – three corrupt chocolatiers running a lucrative chocolate cartel who are determined to crush any competition. They are helped in their criminal endeavours by two chocoholics who are easy to manipulate – the local priest (Rowan Atkinson) and police chief (Keegan-Michael Key).
Wonka makes the mistake of taking lodgings at the boarding house of greedy Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and signing an agreement (he doesn’t read the small print,) which means he ends up as a slave worker for Mrs Scrubbit’s laundrette, and owing her thousands of sovereigns. There he befriends orphan Noodle (Calah Lane), and other enslaved workers including accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) who assist him in his quest to make his dream come true, expose the bad guys and ensure a happy ending.
It is a delightful confection and a beautiful piece of welcome escapism. What is also quite moving is that for people of a certain age who remember Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka in the 1970s film version, the casting of Chalamet is perfect. There are echoes of Wilder in his appearance – the same open innocent face and wild curly hair – and performance. Plus, there’s an hilarious, scene-stealing turn from Hugh Grant as an angry Oompa-Loompa with a score to settle and plenty of other well-known faces to spot including Phil Wang, Isy Sutie and Charlotte Ritchie. Original songs by Neil Hannon are excellent and fit alongside familiar ones, such as the lilting Pure Imagination, from the earlier film.