Show Burton remakes classic movie from Roald Dahl's Dahis beloved book Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times When it comes to confections Tim Burton has confessed his preference is dark bitter chocolate Which is not exactly a surprise The directors director's visionary version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is equally dark and if not exactly bitter unapologetically relentlessly strange Burtons Burton's gifts ensure you wont won't be able to take your eyes off the screen but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happy with what youre you're seeing Though it is much closer to the plot of Roald Dahl's celebrated book than the 1971 Gene Wilder-starring Wilder Willy the Chocolate Factory Charlie paradoxically comes off as asmore asmore asmore more Burton than Dahl Its It's got in an odd way the feeling of the filmmakers filmmaker's ers er's spiritual autobiography rather than the sensibility of the original story In theory this Dahl Burton-Dahl teaming with the added bonus of Burtons Burton's gifted gifted gifted gift gift- ed soul mate Johnny Depp in the Wilder role sounded as unassailable as Laurel and Hardy The director whose resume includes Ed Wood and Edward and whose creepy PG 13 Batman Returns left parents pleading for mercy seemed the ideal match for a writer whom one critic described as having a taste for cruelty rudeness to adults and the comic grotesque Although Dahl is all that and more the reason his irresistible 1964 novel has sold 13 million copies in 32 languages languages languages lan lan- is that grotesqueries aside its overall tone is completely genial even affable This ability to mix opposites to be welcoming as well as weird is Dahl's gift as a writer an ability that is simply outside Burtons Burton's sensibility Charlie and the Chocolate Factory interestingly enough appears to know this Great pains are taken with elements of the films film's casting and very particular changes are made to the books book's plot by screenwriter John August Its It's all done with an eye to warming up what is otherwise a distant dis- dis distant distant dis dis- tant piece of work as chilly and reserved as the novels novel's story of five 1 fortunate children who get to hang hangout hangout hangout out with the greatest inventor of chocolates that there has ever been is cheerfully accessible All this is really a shame because Burton working with production designer Alex McDowell and cinematographer cinematographer cinematographer cine- cine Philippe Rousselot displays displays displays dis dis- dis- dis plays a breathtaking visual tion Each image in the film including including including ing references to 2001 I Psycho and the choreography of Busby Berkeley is presented with remarkable remarkable remarkable remark remark- able precision polished and buffed to the highest of sheens But from its opening images which include making chocolate-making machinery that brings instruments of torture to mind and factory chimneys more sinister sinister sinister sin sin- ister than even Dickens imagined Charlie cant can't help but go to the dark side With the great horror actor Christopher Lee whose autobiography phy is titled Tall Dark and CI r I o e 10 h U CI s 0 CD en CDo o 1 c i Johnny Depp created his version of Willy from shock rocker Marilyn Mansons Manson's performance in a music video f fw l' l fr t pro 4 t F w r. r a I 1 i n dL d CI 1 L dV t hf h V a D. D f om oL o L c o m en od oc d 1 c L 3 Charlie Bucket and the other four lucky winners travel into the famous chocolate factory owned by Willy tasting sweets and meeting unique employees Gruesome in a key supporting role this is a film that can make even chocolate seem inescapably evil Which is why its such a good thing that young Freddie Highmore Depp's winning star co-star in to Finding is cast as young Charlie Bucket the luckiest boy in the entire world Highmore is the most whining winning winning win win- ning young actor imaginable and his ability t to dominate the early parts of the film makes us miss him all the themore themore themore more when his role lessens Though Charlie is poor as the dickens dickens dickens dick dick- ens he is lucky because he lives with both his parents Helena Bonham Carter and Noah Taylor and all four of his grandparents including grizzled grizzled grizzled griz griz- Grandpa Joe Waking Ned Devines David Kelly who worked if foro fot fo Vi V i W y 1 4 once ce M upon fv F t 1 attune time That was was vas before r rampant cip ind industrial sabotage caused the man to close his plant and then reopen it at full capacity capacity capacity capac capac- ity without employing a single human soul Suddenly in a news flash that literally literally literally liter liter- ally startles the world its it's that kind of ofa a story Willy announces the contest to end all contests The five lucky young people who find a golden gold gold- en ticket inside their chocolate bars will get to tour that super-secret super factory and be eligible to win the most something something of any something that's ever been Naturally Charlie finds one of the tickets there wouldn't be much of a film if he didn't as do four other children each of whom represents a type of adolescent evil that Dahl who had five children of his own wanted to discourage in the most serious way They are compulsive consumer Augustus whose hobby is eating eating eating eat eat- ing snotty rich kid Salt as spoiled as the day is long competitive tive Violet Beauregarde who considers consid consid- ers herself the No 1 gum chewer inthe in hi hithe inthe the world and video fiend Mike whose original passion for television has turned into one for video games Once these kids gather at the factory factory facto facto- ry Charlie perforce fades into the background and the film becomes the property of Depp's Willy a creature of hollow and unnatural glee who is odd even by the standards of previous Depp-Burton Depp collaborations A fussy grotesque who makes Wilders Wilder's eccentric candy maker look as cozy as Mister RogerS Willy gives off vibes as varied as Carol Channing and Michael Jackson This former as we learn weird kid who grew up into a weird genius plays like Burtons Burton's version of himself someone so peculiar he exists outside the movie in his own particular comer of space and time Depp's bizarre nature makes the wonders of the factory including more than gallons of choco choco- style late-style liquid not to mention the punishments meted out to those evil children seem especially sinister That tone even infects the plus miniature all played by Deep Roy who run the Charlie Continued on Page 10 Charlie Cont Cant from Page 7 factory and sing and dance to Dahl's original lyrics put to Danny Elfman Anyone looking for a reprise of Candy Man has come to the wrong movie As mentioned Charlie and the Chocolate Factory works overtime to attempt to balance its darker nature by changing the book Charlie offers to sell the lucky ticket to help pay for food for the family and at the films film's climax climax climax cli cli- max he places family values front and center in a way that feels especially forced Roald Dahl never resorted to stratagems stratagems stratagems strata strata- gems like that But then again he didn't need to |