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Film review

'Wicker Man' weaves a new approach

The remake of the 1973 cult favorite gives women the upper hand and eliminates much of the subtlety of the original.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published September 2, 2006

"Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it," says someone in the last reel of The Wicker Man. Whoo, baby, he means it. Something so bad it's good, so poker-faced silly that one can't help but admire what's unfolding on screen.

First, a little back story: In 1973 an odd Scottish thriller titled The Wicker Man barely got released and became a minor cult favorite, mostly due to its obscurity. The plot concerned a determined policeman investigating the disappearance of a little girl on an island colonized by pagans. Don't expect a happy ending if it pops up on cable television.

Filmmaker Neil LaBute was intrigued by The Wicker Man, after building a solid reputation with movies such as In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors that pulled scabs off emotional wounds men inflict on women. It is easy to understand why: The original Wicker Man was set in a patriarchal society where women's primary jobs were housework and breeding. LaBute imagined what the yarn would be if tables were turned.

Flipping the gender power struggle in a remake leads to interesting changes, not always improvements. Nicolas Cage stars as Edward Malus, a California motorcycle patrolman haunted by an opening credits tragedy. While getting his head back together, Edward receives a letter from his former fiancee, Willow Woodward Kate Beahan, asking for help in locating her missing daughter.

The relationship between Edward, Willow and the child wasn't in the original but works fairly well in LaBute's reconfiguration. Ellen Burstyn replaces Christopher Lee as leader of the Summersisle colony and the chief crop produced there is now honey, resulting in overly obvious visual cues about a beehive hierarchy in place. Of course, Edward is allergic to bee stings, one of several red flags raised with bad timing and transparent meaning.

Certainly the reluctance of Summersisle citizens to assist his investigation could be creepier, and the suspense ploys LaBute introduces - sudden jolts, monochromatic flashbacks and hallucinations, etc. - are tawdry compared to the original's quiet dread. Subtlety didn't make money in 1973 so LaBute isn't taking any chances this time.

Therefore, we get characters spouting mystical notions about the Earth's bounty and what must be done to cultivate it, Summersisle men portrayed as mute pack mules, and "sisters," as the women refer to each other, coyly smiling about the truth. Edward takes much longer to figure out the situation than viewers will, although it does give Cage a chance to utilize his exasperated tics and gulped line deliveries.

Anyone who has seen the first Wicker Man knows what's coming and shouldn't spoil it. But how the story gets to that point is by turns macabre and foolish. Somehow it works, in a guilty pleasure manner that Snakes on a Plane hoped it would achieve. One hint: Seeing Cage wearing a bear costume after karate-chopping women - not Burstyn, who's busy wearing Braveheart makeup and acting loony - is part of the "something bad" happening. Top that, Samuel L. Jackson.

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.

The Wicker Man

Grade: C+

Director: Neil LaBute

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Kate Beahan, Diane Delano

Screenplay: Neil LaBute, based on Anthony Shaffer's 1973 screenplay

Rating: PG-13; disturbing images, violence, profanity, child endangerment

Running time: 97 min.

[Last modified September 2, 2006, 07:08:56]