The Wicker Man (1973) Film Review

Fig 1: The Wicker Man (1973) Poster

The film 'The Wicker Man'  is an incredibly suspense-filled cult classic; with a plot pumped full with misdirection, screenplay that keeps the audience shivering on the edge of their seats and a completely estranged visual experience that fools delightfully with a viewer's preconceptions of religion.

"Anthony Shaffer penned the screenplay which, for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled." (Variety Staff 2008)

The screenplay of 'The Wicker Man' is both parts mysterious and disturbing. Its use of old Pagan traditions, beliefs and mannerisms give it a strange feel from the very start which only grows stronger as Sergeant Howie, from the Scottish mainland police force, investigates the disappearance of the young girl, Rowan Morrison. The film, as noted in the quotation above, is extremely imaginative as it makes superb use of all aspects of Pagan belief to frighten an audience unfamiliar with them, it blends these beliefs so seamlessly into a familiar modern environment which confuses and astonishes audiences when it becomes suddenly clear what is taking place on the island. 

Fig 2: Maypole Scene in 'The Wicker Man'

"Edward Woodward is pitch-perfect as Sergeant Howie. He makes a character who, to be honest, is not extremely likeable into a sympathetic figure. We root for him in spite of his flaws because Woodward is so genuine, so thoroughly convinced that he is a righteous man in a community of depravity." (Gonzalez 2008)

The strong characterisation of Sergeant Howie is such a vital role to 'The Wicker Man' that without it, the film as whole cannot function. While 'The Wicker Man' makes good use of its many characters , It is Sergeant Howie who acts as a conduit between the audience and the film's focus, his voicing of opinions and observations act as vocalisations of audience opinion during the many events, but his winding path in investigating the disappearance of Rowan gives very little straightforward movement in the tale and is the main tool of misdirection in the plot, deceiving the audience all the way up to its horrifying conclusion.

Fig 3: The Burning Wicker Man scene in 'The Wicker Man'

"hardly anything surpasses that clifftop finale for freakish terror" (Quinn 2007)

The finale of the 'The Wicker Man' has be immortalised as one of the greatest filmic twists of all time, the sudden change from daring escape to elaborately planned trap is almost unforeseen to audiences during the events leading up to it.It is only upon re-examination of moments through out the film that a much more sinister plot can be revealed. The entire film is rife with symbolic elements of it conclusion, hinting ever so subtly at Sergeant Howie's approaching demise. An example of these would be the use of rabbit imagery, from the finding of a rabbit carcass in Rowan's supposed grave to the beheading of the rabbit headdress during the mayday ritual, the rabbit can be interpreted as a representation of Howie himself, an innocent animal being killed by the predators around it. Another example would be the constant temptation and torment of Howie by the villagers; Willow's constant on screen sexual allure, the pursuit around the village, their constant carelessness about Rowan, etc. When re-examined with the ending in mind, each of these, and many more, instances are engineered circumstances and are organised to test Sergeant Howie's resilience, fortitude and belief as a Christian to their limits, so the village knows they have the perfect human sacrifice for the mayday festival and their gods. This feeling, evoked by the films end, grows more powerful even after it is viewed. It casts the film in a extremely sinister light and moves it away from suspense thriller it seems to be altogether and instead moves into the realm of absolute horror, this echoing fright shadows each character's every word, their every action becomes malicious and deceitful as the perfectly engineered, elaborately organised plot moves Sergeant Howie ever closer to his sickening demise, like a lamb to the slaughter.

List of Illustrations

Fig 1: 'The Wicker Man' poster [Poster] At: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/TheWickerMan_UKrelease_Poster.jpg/220px-TheWickerMan_UKrelease_Poster.jpg

Fig 2: Maypole scene in 'The Wicker Man' (1973) Directed by Robin Hardy. [Film Still] United Kingdom: British Lion Films. At: http://optimumscreenings.co.uk/press/wickerman/WM-014.jpg

Fig 3: The Burning Wicker Man scene in 'The Wicker Man' (1973) Directed by Robin Hardy. [Film Still] United Kingdom: British Lion Films. At: http://ferdyonfilms.com/Wicker%201.jpg

Bibliography

Gonzalez Jr, Felix (2007) At: http://www.dvdreview.com/reviews/pages/2556.shtml [Online Review] (Accessed 24/03/2014)

Quinn, Anthony (2007) At: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-wicker-man-15-462732.html [Online Review] (Accessed 24/03/2014)

Variety Staff (2008) At: http://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/the-wicker-man-1200422895/ [Online Review] (Accessed 24/03/2014)