"Let's Boogie!"

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2005)

I was talking to my mother the other day, telling her how I loved to see Johnny Depp on film. I was thinking about the excitement I get when I'm going to see one of his pictures. Anyway, besides Depp's presence there were plenty of elements that made this an expecting ride for me. Roal Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is still (or I like to think so) my favorite book. I often remember some parts and I haven't read t many times but the first time I did I couldn't believe my eyes. Charlie Bucket; that extremely lovable character, and even more lovable in the skin of the talented Freddie Highmore.
I could neither believe my eyes once Depp's Willy Wonka opened that little (well, not that little) door and I was driven to that fantastic production design, colors and environment that I'm getting convinced I'll only see again in a Tim Burton film (even in an old one). With Alex McDowell at the top of the production design team, Burton made sure everything look beautiful, and it did. With "Big Fish" a couple of years ago, I was amazed, but it was actually long ago, probably in 1990, when I discovered he was a genius. In "Edward Scissorhands", in that unique world...
Which takes me to Johnny Depp, another genius. Maybe that's the main reason why he and Burton work so well together: all the things they have in common. A friend of my brother and a friend of mine told me some weeks ago that Johnny Depp was gay. Gay because he chose to play gay characters and so. "The pirate, the writer, that investigator was also a little gay..." I would prefer the word eccentric, or better, another word comparable to Tim Burton; unique. He's been, since ever, choosing characters the rest of the actors wouldn't even dare to get near of.
This and many others are Depp's qualities. When he and Burton get together, we're grateful of watching unique (yes, again) film-making. This is not, however, his best collaboration yet, which in my humble opinion continues to be "Sleepy Hollow". It doesn't make a difference anyway, because it is a different movie, with different characters, with an inside sad story about heart and family and a very good piece in the end. It's also a very good performance by Depp. "The magician", as I call him, stands out as another completely different being in a memorable composed portrayal of the ever known Willy Wonka. He worked his ideas over the original book before the screenplay was finished; he is that committed. Memorable portrayal, however polemic (for reasons I won't detail); and that could be a disadvantage for the recognition.
I say ever known Willy Wonka because it is ever known by me. I got somehow moved when I saw the glass elevator going up, or the Ompa Loompas working inside the factory; but it will be just as fun for anyone who hasn't read Roal Dahl's beautiful book, because John August (who also wrote Burton's "Big Fish") created a screenplay that brings the fable alive, with perfect narrated moments and words each person will understand. This is what I call a movie for the whole family. Don't even mention Danny Elfman's score, with the beautiful songs (he also sang them!...with machines and effects of course).
And last but not least, two, if not three supporting performances for the times. David Kelly, splendid as Grandpa Joe; Deep Roy, perfect as the funny and adorable Ompa Loompa(s) and if I may say, a deep and moving Christopher Lee as Willy's father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka. In the film's most moving scene, they both meet again, and you wouldn't imagine how the father admires the son, when we are made to believe he wouldn't.
The screen went black and people started cheering, clapping their hands. I hadn't witnessed that since "Titanic" in 1997, because there are times when I feel like clapping, but nobody else does, so I have to stay quiet.