“Wonka” And Timothée Chalamet Are Pure Imagination | Film Review

When Wonka was first announced, cinephiles across the globe proceeded with a collective eyeroll. Yet another in a long line of origin stories for characters it seemed we did not need to know their beginnings in the first place. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a treasured staple of childish nostalgia, and nothing is going to come close to matching the sheer fiendish joy of Gene Wilder’s precocious chocolate ingenue (the less said about Johnny Depp’s take the better). Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka, in a musical no-less? Seriously?

Yes, and it is magical!

Timothée Chalamet stars as the titular Willy Wonka, an up-and-coming chocolate maker desperate to make his mark selling the most glorious confections people have ever tasted! This is quite a lofty goal in a world where chocolate seems to be akin to actual currency, not to mention candy is currently being monopolized by a hidden chocolate cartel headed up by three shady businessmen secretly working in tandem (Matthew Baynton, Paterson Joseph, and Matt Lucas). Oh, and they have a chocaholic Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) located firmly in their back pockets.

Almost immediately after arriving to hawk his chocolaty goods, Wonka finds himself tricked into laundry servitude thanks to the mischievously vicious Mrs. Scrubitt (a scrumptiously scene-stealing Olivia Colman) and her lovelorn compatriot, Bleacher (Tom Davis, careful not to step over the top). Now owing an insurmountable debt, Willy partners up with several other entrapped souls – most importantly a sweetly young orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane) and a curmudgeonly Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) – to Ocean’s Eleven themselves out of Scrubitt’s cellar and into a thriving chocolate business that will afford them the means to wipe their respective slates clean.

At the helm for Wonka is Paddington director Paul King (who co-wrote the script with Simon Farnaby), which tracks with the fanciful set-pieces – along with catchy original songs written by Neil Hannon with a toe-tapping score by Joby Talbot – and characters sprinkled throughout this chimerical universe. Old-fashioned and high-energy is King’s specialty, perfectly pacing the film and delicately balancing the complicated dynamic that often accompanies musical fantasies.

I’m ecstatic to report that Timothée Chalamet is fantastic, and his iteration of Wonka is devilishly delicious! Chalamet has made a career out of oddball loners, mastering the dour mope and longing gaze, it was a shocking surprise to see how deep his talent can swim when allowed to shine. There is no fear of stepping on Gene Wilder’s toes nor a single ounce of anything but respect for what came before him. Instead, Timothée Chalamet winds himself up and pitches a Willy Wonka that is wholly his own.

Wonka is pure imagination, full of joy and whimsy, in the creative origin story you never knew you wanted but will be delighted to have witnessed. Timothée Chalamet floats on air in his most charismatic performance yet in this rousing musical stacked with captivating songs and a cast who came to play. This should dominate the holiday box office as families are going to love this film.

Listen to our full podcast review of Wonka on this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: