Film Reviews: Wonka, Beyonce - Renaissance

 

In the best possible way Wonka is an old fashioned film whose central character doesn’t bear many similarities to the sour chocolatier we are familiar with. If it’s difficult to see how Willy Wonka, here breezily, relentlessly optimistic, became that character in later life so perhaps that’s a story for another film. This one presents him as youthfully idealistic in pursuing his dream of selling his special chocolates. When he gets to the city he is constantly undermined by formidable opposition from a trio of established manufacturers who have the market (and the city’s authorities) in their pockets by bribing them with their chocolate. Oh and it’s a musical which the trailers are ambiguous about, not the first time this has happened with recent films. Its also tremendous fun.

 

Certainly, Dahl aficionados may feel short changed by the absence of the author’s darker predilections save for an ongoing gag about the expanding girth of the police chief. Otherwise, there are good vibes in a story about overcoming the odds to triumph.  The film opens with Willy arriving in the city and soon being divested of his sovereigns solely due to his kindness and gullibility, an early sign of how things are going to go for him. 

When he ends up penniless and prepared to sleep on a bench, a seemingly kind offer of a night’s accommodation soon turns into the equivalent of a prison sentence. Unable to pay for the one night he finds he is indentured to remain and work in the laundry below to pay off a bill running to 10,000 sovereigns. He didn’t read the small print, because he is unable to read. Yet he’s not sunk by this seemingly impossible sentence and along with several others similarly trapped he devises ingenious ways to escape for the day to try and make enough money to free them all.

There is a Dickensian coating to this confection with a hero trying to overcome massive odds and antagonists as grotesques drawn with a broad brush though in the end it is the way society works that is stacked against him. It’s a film that is unafraid to sing, dance and make perhaps obvious points but in an endearing way. It also reinforces the idea of friendship while reinventing childhood delights in an extravagant manner either. Willy’s inventiveness sees him create extravagant chocolates in a fold out suitcase sized box while his sweets have most unusual properties. There’s a distinct steampunk feel to these tiny machines and generally the unspecified time period is something of a mash up.

Its never entirely clear how much of what we’re seeing is in Willy’s imagination as his chocolates cause unexpected results. There’s a strong fantasy element at play leading to some magical musical numbers, particularly the first time Willy sets up his stall and later when he and Noodle, the young girl who is one of the laundry’s prisoners dance and finally fly with balloons across night time roofs. It’s a visual feast and the results are sweet in every way, a film only the most bitter hearted would fail to enjoy. 

Timothee Chalamet adds another strong performance to his catalogue- light on his feet, a decent singer and most of all full of bright eyed inspiration. Hugh Grant is deadpan good as the sole Oompa Loompa in this story with some great lines and a serious countenance that plays against the others despite bright green hair! An ensemble cast of well know British actors do their stuff with brio notably Olivia Colman scoffing the scenery as the rude and nasty Mrs Scrubbit and the trio of Matt Lucas, Paterson Joseph and Mathew Baynton as the three rivals whose song together is one of the best bits of the movie. Against all this experience young Calah Lane as Noodle is excellent and also enjoys a good on-screen rapport with Chalamet.  The songs, from Neil Hannon and Jody Talbot are just right though probably wouldn’t work out of context of the film.

Director Paul King adds some lovely touches without overplaying any aspect of a production that could easily have become just too syrupy and his busy cameras do a great job capturing the ensemble numbers and comedic moments equally well. As with his Paddington films the threats and danger occur in such fantastical settings that they rarely rise beyond mild peril but that's ok somehow. The plot is basic yet thanks to the committed cast and the director's strong sense of what works more involving than you’d imagine. Anytime, but especially at this time of year it is an uplifting delight.

 

If you just saw some footage from Beyonce - Renaissance you might think the whole film is somewhat over the top yet this movie mixes stage spectacle with more intimate, personal backstage material. The result is an absorbing portrait of one of the world’s biggest artists at a time when her personal and professional life seem happier than ever. Admittedly it is written, produced and directed by Beyonce herself giving it an inevitable professional sheen that an outsider might break through but she is willing to offer up worries, flaws and struggles as well as allowing us to meet a lot of the team that contribute to the show. Of course access only goes as far as she allows but this is further than you’d think. Beyonce comes across as regular a person as you can be if you live a megastar life with a career stretching back over twenty five years now.

The show itself is a massive stadium affair involving a lot of sci fi imagery, metallic parts, much of it playing out on a giant circular screen flanked by two enormous rectangular ones. There’s also a walkway into the audience, a flexible band and even more flexible dancers. Shot over multiple concerts the footage allows instant costume changes and she seems to also have different coloured versions of each look. The emphasis is on sparkly futurism. A lot of the material comes from the Renaissance album and in interviews she talks of them as her most personal. She’s always been a confident performer but now as she memorably puts it she doesn’t care what people think and this has elevated her even further.

What comes across is how odd her music has always been. It’s there in those early hits- `Crazy in Love’ has weird signatures, `Single Ladies` (not included in the show, gasp!”) is even stranger. The less familiar (to me) recent material is angular and electronic sometimes suggesting the taut dance pop of Janet Jackson at her prime though the dance movement is more fluid here. The visuals do come over as being a bit much at times especially when she sports a metallic bee costume (!) or is carried over the crowd astride a glass horse (!!) I’m not sure what it all means or how it relates to the songs but I suppose that doesn’t matter. As a show it is a visual feast with her vocals rich and powerful throughout.

The behind the scenes sequences are longer than you might expect involving a lot of key people on the tour or her family. They show the more real Beyonce wearing ordinary clothes or looking tired or conducting meetings or being a mother. As someone in charge of such a large operation she seems decidedly calm but resolute.  The family stuff is full of love, especially a chat with her own mother, so much so that  an extended section where we see her eleven year old daughter Ivy Blue becoming involved in part of the show does not grate as much as you would imagine. Other scenes take her back to her own childhood home and combine to give a vivid portrait of her off stage life. Renaissance is likely as close to Beyonce as we’ll ever get and works so well too as a record of a massive, ambitious tour.