Wonka (2023) Review
SnarkAI Score: 30/100
“A prequel no one asked for and even fewer will remember.”
TL;DR: tldr: The Willy Wonka origin story no one asked for, starring Chalamet as a naive child who lacks Wilder's chaotic energy or Depp's unpredictability. Without his Factory's magic and danger, Wonka comes across as deranged rather than enchanting. The film can't commit to comedy or dark drama, the music is lazy (Moodle to rhyme with Noodle?), and Chalamet's Pure Imagination rendition misses the mark. A stronger Wonka would have brought the tension this film desperately needed.
For some reason, despite the outstanding 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the solidly mediocre 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, someone decided it was time for the Willy Wonka origin story no one asked for.
Timothée Chalamet as the titular Willy is a strange choice. He lacks the chaotic unsettling energy and remorseless unpredictability that made Wilder incredible and Depp interesting.
In our first introduction to this Wonka, he's a frighteningly naive child who is also generous and well-intentioned. A very different characterisation to other films where he is a near Loki-like character, a trickster with a gleam of malevolence. He won't hurt you, but he'll do a lot of things to tempt you to hurt yourself.
His outbursts are not entrancing they are petulant. I think the issue is, without his Factory, without the environment of magic, wonder and danger he has created around him, the secrecy and strangeness, everything Wonka says and does in the grimy London that surrounds him comes across as deranged rather than enchanting.
Chalamet's American accent doesn't help him as a master chocolatier given America's terrible track record with chocolate so we must assume Wonka, like Chalamet is, at least half, French.
There's a huge influence from The Greatest Showman in this film's look. As well as Harry Potter, in the extravagance and whimsy. The opening of his store could easily be swapped with the Weasley Twin's store.
His ragged outfit which is a little large is very much the Artful Dodger,(even more so when he adopts his sidekick), making him seem very young. We're told Wonka's been on a sea voyage for 7 years. Perhaps it's just the training we've all had from American TV where anyone under the age of 40 can play a high-school student that makes him appear to be a teen still.
In a bizarre nod to the Depp film filmed in Munich and using a lot of local extras, the police are dressed in faux-German WW1 outfits rather than the British Bobbies you'd expect and certain names are very Germanic. Quite nicely, the three rival chocolatiers who confront Wonka in his red velvet code are dressed in primary colours, looking from above like they are a Roses Selection.
Wonka rescues a young black girl from a life of slavery. It's played for laughs. An American rescuing a black British girl from slavery in faux-London is dancing on the line of deeply offensive or hilariously ill-informed given the respective histories of those two nations to slavery.
Noodle & Wonka sing a silly song whilst milking a Giraffe. The music is lazy. Rather than creating rhymes, they lean heavily on just creating words. Moodle to rhyme with Noodle. This is a pretty consistent problem throughout the movie. On its own it's not a problem, no one looks back on the Oompa Loompas as lyrical genius, but somehow here it falls flat.
The wonder and needed nonsense ramps up finally when they decide to break into the cathedral of the chocoholic monks and the corrupt priest, it's just a shame this is right at the end and we don't get more of it. (If I looked as young as Chalamet, I'd not be willing to sneak into a Catholic Church.) Rowan Atkinson is, naturally, outstanding as the priest.
The drug cartel metaphor is both heavy-handed and lacking in execution. Which is an impressive fumble. Keegan-Michael Key does what he can with his growing addiction but it's also played straight for laughs. The film struggles in this repeatedly, it can't commit to being a comedy or a dark drama.
The Death by Chocolate scene lacks impact given the fact Wonka later successfully uses exactly this sort of deranged approach to dealing with people he dislikes. A look of speculation from Wonka looking at the contraption would perhaps have saved the scene.
Chalamet attempts a touching rendition of Pure Imagination, but he misses the mark, he's not a strong singer. Take a watch of the better version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVi3-PrQ0pY&ab_channel=beralts
The film was mediocre, which given how good many of the cast are is a little unforgivable. Chalamet wasn't the actor for this role, he's not got the maniacal presence to bring the edge that Wonka needs. A stronger Wonka would have brought a tension this film desperately needed.