WONKA
CHALAMET, CHOCOLATE AND A COMIC CRITIQUE OF CAPITALISM
Mathew Baynton and Simon Farnaby on the biggest film of the festive season
Sing it from the rooftops: Wonka is magic. If you see someone skipping down the high street in the next few weeks, it could be they’re feeling the spirit of Christmas coursing through their veins. But most likely, they’ve just seen Wonka at the pictures.
Timothée Chalamet is the very definition of charm as Willy Wonka, while Calah Lane is all heart as his new, young orphan pal Noodle. The supporting cast gathers the very best of British comedy talent – from Blackadder’s Rowan Atkinson to Peep Show’s Olivia Colman and Paterson Joseph and Ghosts’ Mathew Baynton and Simon Farnaby (who also co-wrote the film).
Every line of the script for the has been honed to perfection. It’s sweet but never saccharine. There is a rhythm and rhyme to the dialogue and alliterative flourishes, a lyrical flow that’s matched in the wit and whimsy The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon brings to the songs.
