Cinecast Mailbag (7/19)

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Today's email comes from Clarence Moye:

I'm amused at (your) discussion of Depp's Wonka as Michael Jackson, and, while reading other articles, I stumbled upon this discussion by David Poland of The Hot Button:

"If Wonka was a take on Michael Jackson, none of that is present. Wonka is MJ's nightmare ... he doesn't like kids, he is happy to see kids get their comeuppance for bad behavior, he didn't have to work under his father's thumb for most of his life, he has no siblings, he has no pets, his relationship with the Oompa Loompas is symbiotic and respectful, not sycophantic or abusive, etc, etc, etc."

I'd love for you to comment on this either on the website or on your show. Looking forward to it and more shows from you.

Thanks for the email, Clarence. Although I had seen a "Charlie" preview or two, Depp's Jacko-isms didn't really stand out, nor was I aware that the Michael Jackson connection had been made previously by others. The fact that so many people seem to have arrived at this conclusion independently is reason enough, I think, to give it credence.

That being said, I think it's important not to overstate the comparison. I don't think Depp is doing a Jackson impersonation, nor is he (or Burton) making some commentary on Jackson's reputation or behavior. Whether Depp's evocation was intentional or not is not really the point; my problem with his portrayal is that it lacks humanity, which creates an emotional vortex at the center of the film. Depp's performance made it impossible for me to accept Willy Wonka as a real man with real feelings, which in turn made it impossible for me to believe in his factory, which, ultimately, left me uninvested in the story.

Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka is eccentric and menacing, but he's also a "real" man, and his behavior is based on coherent (if occasionally mean-spirited) motives. At the end of Burton's film, Wonka's decision to reward Charlie with his chocolate factory seems arbitrary; in the 1971 version, Charlie's integrity is tested by Wonka (will Charlie return the Everlasting Gobstopper?), and only when he passes the test does Wonka reward him. Burton turns Dahl's story into a funhouse that's frequently amusing to look at, but the film, like Depp's performance, has no heart.

Sam