FOUR STARS
We must be grateful that there is a director as close to childhood as Paul Kingeven if this is not the best of his films (the best of his films to date is the extraordinary, superlative Paddington 2: Wonka is on par with the very good Paddingtonno more).
Because it is the best way to connect with Roald Dahl’s head to make – sorry for the confusion – the prequel to a story that Dahl once wrote. This Wonka, which tells the origin of the character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, lacks the sometimes misanthropic edge of the version of Tim Burton (masterpiece, by the way), and opt for greater kindness.
But in reality the story of the young idealist facing big capital (that’s right, there is something politically correct) is a little more Dickensian. And it has another characteristic: it asks about the vocation and the game. Why do we eat sweets? Because they are rich, no more. That’s why they are called that.
The idea of the playful, the wonderful for its own sake, the vindication of everything that forged the idea of happiness in childhood is translated here in the form of a colorful musical that is not without its parodic side (although gentle). For once, young Chalamet is bearable and even charming, which is still a major merit.
