The Wicker Man

[alexxkay]

kestrell and I just watched The Wicker Man, which I had never seen before. This is not so much a review, as a scattered collection of reactions. Spoilers follow, if you think that matters for a famous film that dates to 1973.

This struck me as almost an inversion of the slasher movie paradigm (though it really predates it). Instead of a Final Girl, who survives because of her virginity, there's a Final Man -- who dies *because* of his. And his is the only murder in the story; any others turn out to be illusory. There's practically no gore, but the final scene shows that fire can be just as disturbing as blood.

This is also a true classic in the subgenre of "rural village whose members are all in on a conspiracy". And the secret they are hiding turns out not to be so mundane as a simple murder, but a grand mindfuck in an almost literal sense.

I had heard tell of the extreme sexiness of Britt Ekland in this movie, but even so, I was quite blown away by the 'seduction scene'. In it, she dances naked around her room, almost as if casting a spell on the hapless, virginal policeman next door. It's intensely charged, despite the fact that she and the policeman never touch or see each other. It was almost as if the inn itself was a living entity, and she was investing herself within it, so that the very walls which surrounded him (and her) would fold in and embrace them. Or maybe the fact that I've been rereading _House of Leaves_ at bedtime is unduly influencing my thinking here.

All the actors were marvelous, and creepy in their own individual flavors. Christopher Lee (Lord Summerisle) was a standout, of course. He manages to be dignified and in control of the situation at all times, whether wearing ceremonial drag, or unfortunate early 70s turtlenecks. Well, almost always in control. He seems rather taken aback when the policeman, being dragged off to his sacrificial doom, predicts that if the crops fail this year as well, then next Spring it will be His Lordship that must be sacrificed. But this does nothing to stop him. Indeed, perhaps Lord Summerisle would even agree. Of course, he is sure that the crops will *not* fail this year, with all the strength a man of faith can have.

The portayal of a society which, to a casual glance is so typically english, while being so very Other just beneath the surface, was quite compelling. One of the most telling sequences for me was when the policeman confronts Lord Summerisle and a lady friend as they share a romantic evening together. He does this by tossing a dead hare between the two of them, clearly expecting to put them on the defensive by his discovery of this important (and somewhat grotesque) clue. But they are not put out at all. For the remainder of the scene, they mostly ignore the dead animal body, and are quite undisturbed by its presence. To me, this said more about the villagers' mindset than any amount of exposition possibly could.

Comments

[cat9.livejournal.com]

I first saw The Wicker Man in a van on the way to New York City. It was quite a surreal experience. The surrealness may have been enhanced by the slight motion sickness cause by trying to watch a movie whilst in a moving vehicle, but it is a darn odd movie, so perhaps not. I will never think of Summer is a Coming In the same way again :)

(This reply is also my way of pointing out that I've added you. I always feel like I should have some kind of electronic calling card I could leave or something...)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I will never think of Summer is a Coming In the same way again :)

Ayup. It's been a while since I made it to a May Day on the Charles celebration, and if I do so again, it will look veeeery different.

(This reply is also my way of pointing out that I've added you. I always feel like I should have some kind of electronic calling card I could leave or something...)

Welcome! I have added you as well, though (in the spirit of full disclosure) I've put you in a filter that I don't actually have time to read very often.

[(Anonymous)]

Now you must see Hot Fuzz.

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

Interesting insight re: Final Girl. Yes, I see that. I certainly wouldn't call this a horror/slasher movie; it's mystery/suspense, I suppose.

I saw this in 1978 or not much after. A member of Old Silverwing and one of my first encounters with a Real Live Pagan [tm] (Aldwyn of Thymeswood, for you old-timers) strongly encouraged me to see it. He explained some folklore having to do with the sacrifice in this sort of situation having to be a Virgin Fool or a Willing King. I seem to recall some reference in the film to the fact that the policeman, being a representative of the Crown, was a valid Willing King, but surely he was a Virgin Fool. I suppose Lord Summerisle himself would have represented the Willing King.

The film was recently re-made, with the requisite "bold directorial vision, representing an edgy and innovative homage to the neo-post-retro-pre-anti-deconstructionist-fourth-wave cinematophilic movement [sniff] [tm]". Bleaugh. The first, of course, was way better.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

IMDB to the rescue:

Willow: A man who would come here of his own free will.
Librarian: A man who has come here with the power of a king. By representing the law.
Willow: A man who would come here as a virgin.
Librarian: A man who has come here as a fool.