The Everlasting Blogstopper

It’s quickly becoming that time of year again… Yes, for many movie fanatics, the winter season is a beloved period of time in which many get to view great (or awful) films for the very first time. Moreover, moviegoers get a chance to check out preview material for new and upcoming films, like Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
Ah yes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Do you remember when Gabe first mentioned that film on the blog? I do, and I also remember how interested I was to learn that Johnny Depp was chosen for the role of the enigmatic candy maker, Willy Wonka. I was equally astonished to hear about Burton’s plans for the film in the coming months, like his inclination to tell the story from a darker vantage point. My appetite was further whetted by the rumored plotline for the film: a tragic tale about Wonka’s fall from grace. Even more telling was the fact that Depp himself cast the character of Charlie with a good friend of his, Freddie Highmore. The original film itself serves as the catalyst for the boiling cesspools of interest inherit in this new adaptation. And since people are greatly interested in seeing how Burton approaches the remake of this film, they’ve also become curious about what the new characters will look like, namely Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.

Photographer Darren Goff managed to snag a very rough headshot of Depp as Wonka. It’s not very telling but it does confirm the suspicion that Depp would be a gloomier, wicked version of Wilder’s classic character.


Now here’s where my issue with the film comes into play. Whenever someone begins describing Depp’s Wonka as a more sinister version of Wilder’s Wonka, I can’t help but roll my eyes. I can completely understand Burton’s desire to bring out some of the darker subject matter inherit in Wonka’s psyche. And there should be no question that Depp is one of the few actors who could pull the character off without stepping on Wilder’s toes. But my beef lies in the fact that writers and critics often downplay Wilder’s sinister nature in their praise of Johnny Depp’s characterization. Personally, I thought Wilder’s performance was deeply sinister, wicked and even a little bit frightening. If I had to outline some of the creepiest performances I’ve ever seen, I’d count Wilder’s Wonka as one of the top few. It wasn’t a brilliant performance because he was seeping with edgy subject matter and was beheld in a sinister manifestation. It was brilliant because Wilder let so many of those darker connotations go unsaid. It was a mastery of understatement. Wonka was unaccountable for his actions in many ways and his egotistical and childlike personality made the performance special. It was a subtle piece
I sincerely hope that Depp isn’t just tacking his performance with the “a more sinister approach” label. Defining it that way is like adding sugar to Pepsi. It’s overkill, and it’s the fastest way to proving that Wilder may have been the only man to capture the character perfectly. At least, that’s just how I see it.