Wicker It, Just a Little Bit

Writing about the psuedo sequel to my third favorite film of all time is no easy feat, and hence, the weakling inside me is taking the easy way out: I’m excusing The Wicker Tree as a warm-up for whatever Robin Hardy does next.

See, give the 82 year old filmmaker a break. It’s been quite some time since his he last got behind a camera and everybody needs a good warmup.

The Wicker Tree is just a 90 minute yoga stretch.

Quick Plot: Beth Boothsby (fresh-faced Brittania Nicol) is a successful country singing star who just can’t stop warbling about Jesus. She pauses long enough for a goodbye party at her Baptist church, wherein the good cowboys of Texas send her and her fiancée Steve out to Scotland for a two-year missionary journey to bring Christ to pagans.

I don’t know about you, but I had no idea modern missionaries took European tours. Consider me schooled.

Shockingly enough, those funny voiced redheads don’t really want to hear about dying on the cross. Disheartened by the sound of doors slamming in their pretty faces, Beth and Steve reluctantly accept an invitation to the more rural town of Tresseck, where wealthy power couple Lord Lachlan and Lady Delia Morrison oversee a gaggle of plain folk who worship goddesses and nature.

Tresseck isn’t an easy home for two crazy Texans whose biggest source of pride shines from their promise rings. Beth is able to charm some of the townspeople with her voice, but her preaching never seems to land on open ears. This is especially hard on our country star since she is (gag) a born again virgin, having remade herself into a crucifix wearing angel after hitting it big with her original single, Trailer Trash Love (yes, there’s a music video set in a redneck bar and yes, it’s amazing).

On the other hand, Steve is far more willing to suspend his Christian beliefs for fleshier pleasures. After failing to seduce Beth, he takes a quick liking to local Lolly…mostly because she’s a pretty blond with a cute accent who likes to bathe in the nude and essentially say “Hey, I’d really like it if you came in here and had sex with me.”

And so he does.

See, Cowboy Steve ain’t no Sergeant Howie. Then again, Hardy has also argued that The Wicker Tree is NOT a sequel to his 1974 masterpiece. It’s more a companion piece, a film set in the same TYPE of world that also explores the contrasts and similarities of paganism and Christianity. Or something.

Sigh. It’s never easy to approach a follow-up to one of your all-time favorite films. Sometimes the results are pleasantly odd enough to make it work (Return to Oz) while others just feel like wasteful one-offs unworthy of their names (Starship Troopers 2—though in fairness, Part 3 is surprisingly sly).  Robin Hardy can SAY that The Wicker Tree isn’t a sequel, but why name it “The Wicker Tree” if that’s the case? Perhaps my immediate low point is that the title is positively distracting. Like other Hardy fans who have been following the film’s 4+ year journey through budget cuts and actor injuries, I would have rather sat down to watch a film called Cowboys For Christ and gone from there.

That being said, The Wicker Tree DOES still share some of its predecessor’s charms. The original music isn’t as insanely humful as Paul Giovanni’s catchy Landlord’s Daughter, but some of the songs are quite pretty in a haunting way. Aside from Beth’s Jesus jingles, there’s a striking number sang by a middle aged tavern wench about, as far as I could tell, doing the nasty in the forest.

But the REST of the film…well, it’s there with some great ideas, some truly creepy ones, and ultimately, no solid payoff for its religious buildup. Let’s get spoilery:

Whereas the townspeople of The Wicker Man were making human sacrifices to restore their harvest, the villagers of The Wicker Tree are suffering from a different, equally stirring plague: infertility. As Tresseck is too close to a nuclear power plant, the female population has been unable to conceive for some time. Naturally for a bunch of nature worshipping Europeans, the logical way to fight this is to sacrifice two innocent(ishes) in some extremely brutal fashions, i.e., skin the female and call her The May Queen and tear the cowboy apart to eat with your bare hands. I imagine Hardy is trying to show an extreme case of religious fanaticism to compare to Steve and Beth’s overly fanatical (yet more conventionally accepted) Christianity. But the problem is, what is he actually accomplishing by having the pagans prove to be so brutal?

It’s a tough question and perhaps a second viewing might make more themes clear. The IDEAS are certainly there, but considering how much time is spent on Beth’s conversion from a slutty Britney Spears knockoff to a fully clothed church girl, it’s odd that her character ultimately gets no real choice in or lesson from her awful fate. Perhaps some of you smarter readers who have watched The Wicker Tree can help.

SPOILERS HATH END'TH

High Notes

Not spoiling, but just sayin’: like in The Wicker Man, people die in some fairly horrific manners, all of which are suggested without being deliberately shown. I found it chilling

Yes, Graham McTavish's role was supposed to be played by the god that is Christopher Lee, but I still found his self-proclaimed Monty Burnsish millionaire to be an effective villain. Similarly, Nicol captures the perfect essence of an overly devout without much brains Christian princess

Low Notes

Hey, I’m not going to argue with the hypocrisy of Bible interpretation, but it just feels like the script could have pointed this out in a more organic show-don’t-tell way. Instead, we have out pagan characters describing Christian beliefs about the rapture. The execution felt lazy

Lessons Learned

Contrary to common Englishman belief, The Clitoris is NOT an island off Greece famous for its ouzo

Never ask a Christian cowboy to play poker. He’ll probably just spend hours going through each card and explaining what it has to do with Jesus and really, you’ve got money to win already. Eff that dude

Cowboys keep their hats on

The Winning Line

“Where is my bowl of eyes?”

Because, come on: it’s one thing to HAVE a bowl of eyes. It’s a far greater thing to misplace it

Rent/Bury/Buy

It’s hard to know how to recommend The Wicker Tree. If you’re a diehard fan of The Wicker Man (like me), then you kind of HAVE to see where Hardy went next, even if the results are just nowhere nearly as satisfying as you might hope. That being said, there is some beautiful landscaping, weirdly paced horrors, and haunting original songs that make even an ultimately lackluster film still something more special than your average straight-to-DVD genre picture. So put it on your queue for an eventual watch. It won’t change your belief in cinema or fertility goddesses, but it will be something unique.

Wicker Me Wonderful

When Final Girl Stacie Ponder announced The Wicker Man as December 14th's film club pick (a monthly roundup of movie blogs reviewing the same movie; come here  tomorrow and check it out) I was more than apprehensive to type a single word. Aside from a few carnivorous klowns, stab-happy dolls, and shopaholic zombies, Robin Hardy’s 1973 musical/thriller/drama/horror/mystery comes close to topping my list of all-time favorites. Witness this very special corner of my apartment:

Sure, I’ve been known to bookmark the infamous 2 minute best-of youtube clip of LeBute’s remake (an incredibly campy example of what happens when a misogynist filmmaker gets his hands on good actors,  bad special effects, and bear suits), but my heart forever belongs to what is quite rightfully cited as “The Citizen Kane of Horror Cinema.”

As I assume most of you have already viewed this film, I’ll spare the synopsis to get to the meat and apples-of-a-good-harvest-season: why I adore The Wicker Man. Spoilers will follow, so if by some promiscuity loving pagan god forbidden chance you haven’t seen it, I implore you to close this link, velcro up your shoes, put on your best bunny head mask and get thee to a video store to pick up the Special Edition 2-disc set.

Back? Now ask the landlord's lovely daughter to pour you a pint and settle in for why The Wicker Man is perhaps the most awesome film of all time:

The Look

Not only is the Scottish location a truly gorgeous sight to behold, but Hardy and cinematographer Harry Waxman capture its strange beauty in such an intriguing way. The glare of the sun blocking our view in the film’s final act stays in many a watcher’s head long after it’s done, while other “eye” choices (such as having the early landing of Sgt. Howie’s plane shown through his bobbing-on-water point of view) all work to make the film’s actual shooting just as memorable as its famous performances, songs, and script.

The Language

The fact that it incorporates words like strumpet, mead, assiduous, wench, bawdy, and a barrel more of playful yet underused vocabulary

Touches of the Eerie

Strange little moments of horror add up throughout the film, slowly hinting at what might lay below the surface of this strangely organic world. Several brief scenes never fail to tickle my skin, including the giggling schoolgirl’s gleeful pleasure in tethering a beetle to her desk and the children’s all-too-happy games playing dead during Howie’s frantic search for Rowan. Plus, clown dolls!

Christopher Lee

If one were to compile a list of the greatest speaking voices in cinematic history, Christopher Lee’s rich bass would surely find its way close to the top. The Wicker Man gloriously milks those well-traveled vocal chords for all their worth, letting Lord Summerisle wax nostalgic in unusual sermons and sing a few ditties with an energy rarely seen by such a cinematic titan.

The Overall Mood
Much like Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Wicker Man casts an inescapable spell over its audience without relying on obvious visual cues. It’s a combination of the living landscape, offbeat songs, and peculiar dialect amongst Summerisle residents that leaves you enraptured, if always uncomfortable inside a simultaneously familiar and strange land.

Incredible Buildup
Rarely does a film with a body count of one merit so much horror, but credit The Wicker Man’s carefully planned crescendo as Howie plays detective on an island where the typical rules of investigation simply don’t apply. One of the tensest moments comes during the big parade, as one by one, nervously laughing pagans in costume step into a sword drawn circle to learn their fate. The fake-out beheading summons one of the all-time biggest gasps I’ve ever released while watching a film.

Music
Paul Giovanni’s folky songs are one of a kind, from the brilliantly catchy Maypole dance to the sensual siren song a nude Britt Eckland coos from behind a heavy wall. Wedding DJs probably don’t get a lot of requests for "The Landlord’s Daughter" and we’ll probably never hear an American Idol contestant cover "Corn Riggs", but it’s impossible to deny the importance of these unique compositions in such an atmospheric film.

Edward Woodward
The first time I watched The Wicker Man, I was glaring my way through its running time at Sgt. Howie’s close-minded aggressiveness amid a free-spirited land of good-natured barflies who just wanted to rock. With each viewing, I come to admire the late Woodward’s work more and more. It’s not an easy task to carry a film as a somewhat unlikable character, but Howie always seems a real, fervent man doing his job and trusting in his faith. It’s a testament to Woodward’s performance that, despite his character’s attitude throughout the film, we as the audience are completely invested in his fate.

Finale

I dare you not to get goosebumps as Woodward screams out that hymn, raising his voice  to mount the crackling of flames and joyous choral song of the townspeople’s joyous swaying below. The contrast creates what may be one of the most haunting scenes in filmic history.

Quibbles

One restored scene to the extended cut doesn’t quite sit well with me: While the theatrical version opens with Howie arriving at Summerisle, the restored film starts on the mainland, with Sgt. Howie singing at church and his fellow policemen joking about his virginity. Does anybody else find this a little too obvious, too soon? 

The music played during Howie and Rowan’s near escape feels, much like Peter’s last stand in Dawn of the Dead, jarringly out of place, taking us into ‘70s TV cop chases and out of a May Day celebration

Lessons Learned

If an attractive young woman is nakedly banging on your walls, it might not be a bad idea to give in to one night of carnal pleasure

It’s much too dangerous to jump through fire with your clothes on

Snails are horny, selfish, and highly admired by pagan chiefs

Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent

Rent/Bury/Buy

Own it. Watch it. Love it. Sacrifice a virgin to it. The Special Edition features a rewarding batch of extras, including an energetic 35 minute retrospective where we learn that Ingrid Pitt is quite possibly one of the most happening dames in the business. The commentary track is not to be missed, especially to hear Christopher Lee’s praise of just how much he believed in the film. It’s a classic like no other.

And don't forget to head over to Film club captain Final Girl's site  on Monday afternoon and browse a few more reviews from fellow movie geeks. You don't need even need a secret code!