Timothèe Chalamet turns on the charm in the backstory of Willy Wonka
Wonka
Starring Timothèe Chalamet, Calah Lane & Hugh Grant
Directed by Paul King
PG
In theaters Friday, Dec. 15
Do you have a sweet tooth?
That’s the musical question asked early in this new candy-coated spinoff prequel from author Roald Dahl’s 1960s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Timothèe Chalamet stars as the younger version of Willy Wonka as he begins his journey to become a famous—and famously eccentric—chocolatier, as played in later movies by Gene Wilder (1971) and Johnny Depp (2005).
Maybe you saw Chalamet as a lanky, sensitive young man yielding to a homoerotic crush in Call Me by Your Name. Or as a lean young cannibal in Bones and All. Or a lovestruck young 19th century swain in Little Women. Or the universe-hopping heir of a cosmic dynasty in Dune. Or a swooning prep school paramour in Lady Bird. Or, on TV, as the sexy new cologne ambassador in TV spots for Chanel’s latest fragrance.
But did you know he can sing—you likely did, if you saw him hosting Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago—and he can dance? The twice Oscar-nominated actor has a smooth, charming singing voice and some stylish prancing flourishes for the tunes he croons in the new movie, including a remake of “Pure Imagination” from the original film. Wonka proves his versatility and willingness to stretch, though he may not be Fred Astaire or Bing Cosby—yet!
He’s perfectly pitched, though, in this whimsically imaginative tale as young chocolate innovator (and magician) who arrives in London with his bag of tricks and a headful of dreams. But not so fast. First Willy has to outwit, outfox and out-chocolate the city’s comedically diabolical “chocolate cartel,” a trio of treat-making moguls who keep a crackdown on competition of any kind.
Young Wonka may be irrepressibly optimistic, all but destitute and as nutty as a fruitcake, but man, he sure can make some amazingly delicious candy! (Ingredients for his “incredible edible” confections include giraffe milk, tears of a Russian clown and beams of sunshine, and in one particularly significant instance, little insects appropriately called hoverflies.) British director Paul King brings some of the same witty, smile-inducing snap to this tasty tale that he demonstrated in Paddington as well as its sequel, and a fine supporting cast rounds out the story with campy silliness as well as sweetness and heart.
There’s Oscar-winning Olivia Colman as the starchy proprietress of a Dickensian fleabag hotel and sweatshop laundry. And is that the British funnyman known for playing Mr. Bean, Rowland Atkisson, as a priest whose holiness has room for lots of chocolate? Yes, it is! Keegan-Michael Key is an easily corrupted chocoholic cop. Oscar-nominated Sally Hawkins plays Willy’s mum, who teaches him to make chocolate with a very special secret ingredient. You might recognize Jim Carter from his role as the butler on Downtown Abbey. And newcomer Callie Lane is Noodles, a little homeless urchin who becomes Willy’s colleague and collaborator.
But it’s Hugh Grant who nearly steals the show as the little orange-hued man, known as Oompa-Loompa, who intersects with Willy on his own quest for candy. And he provides the backstory of his “people,” who would become the Minions of the Wonka-verse.
So, have you got a sweet tooth? This holiday-movie season, forget your dentist. Instead, indulge yourself with a trip to the wildly creative, deliciously unconventional world of Wonka for fun, laughs and frolic, and the sugary spice of infectiously clever songs, all wrapped around a soft, sentimental center—and covered in rich, magical chocolate, of course!
—Neil Pond
The Media Tourist 