The Wicker Man (2006 film)
The Wicker Man | |
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File:Wicker-man-poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Neil LaBute |
Produced by | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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Screenplay by | Neil LaBute |
Based on | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
Music by | Angelo Badalamenti |
Cinematography | Paul Sarossy |
Edited by | Joel Plotch |
Production
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates
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Running time
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102 minutes[1] |
Country | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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Language | English |
Budget | $40 million[2] |
Box office | $38.8 million[2] |
The Wicker Man is a 2006 horror film written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Nicolas Cage. The film primarily is a remake of the 1973 British cult classic The Wicker Man, but also draws from its source material, David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual. The film concerns a policeman named Edward Malus who is informed by his ex-fiancée Willow Woodward that her daughter Rowan has disappeared and asks for his assistance in her search. When he arrives at the island where Rowan was last seen he begins to suspect something sinister is afoot with the neo-pagans who reside on the island.
The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from film critics at the time of its release; critics pointed to the film's unintentional hilarity, weak acting, and poor screenwriting. The film was also a financial flop, grossing over $38 million against a $40 million production budget. Since release, it has developed a cult following as an entertaining unintentional comedy, particularly due to Cage's over-the-top performance.
Cage dedicated the film to his friend Johnny Ramone, the guitarist of the band The Ramones, who had died in 2004.
Contents
Plot
Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) receives news from his ex-fiancée, Willow Woodward (Kate Beahan), that her daughter, Rowan (Erika Shaye Gair), is missing. He travels to the Western United States and takes a ship cruise to a coastal area where he gets a pilot (Matthew Walker) to take him to an island off the coast of Washington State where a group of neo-pagans live.
The island is led by Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn), an elderly woman who supposedly represents the Goddess they worship. Sister Summersisle explains to Edward that her ancestors had left England to avoid persecution, only to settle near Salem and find renewed persecution in the Salem witch trials, before arriving on the island. Sister Summersisle explains that their population is predominately female as they choose the strongest stock—evading Edward's concern about the birth of unwanted males. The economy of the island relies on the production of local honey, which Edward learns has declined recently.
Edward asks the villagers about Rowan, but they give him evasive answers. He later sees two men carrying a large bag that appears to be dripping blood, and then he finds a fresh, unmarked grave in the churchyard. The grave turns out to only contain a burned doll, but Edward finds Rowan's sweater in the churchyard.
At the village school, teacher Sister Rose (Molly Parker) tries to prevent Edward from seeing the class register. When he sees that Rowan's name has been crossed out he becomes enraged at the teacher's and Rowan's classmates' lies. Rose demands Edward talk outside and, after a short discussion of the island people's view of death, Rose explains that Rowan is "letting it snow". Edward asks how Rowan died and Sister Rose tells him first that "She'll burn to death". When Edward catches the tense she used, Sister Rose corrects herself quickly, saying, "She burned to death", and rushes back to her class.
While questioning Willow about the grave, she reveals to Edward that Rowan is his daughter.
As Edward searches through the island for clues and answers, he eventually grows to realise the community is a matriarchal dystopian society.
On the day of the fertility rite, Edward frantically searches the village for Rowan. He attacks Sister Beech (Diane Delano), who has a bear costume for the ritual. Edward incapacitates Sister Honey (Leelee Sobieski), dons the bear suit, and joins the parade led by Sister Summersisle.
The parade ends at the site of the festival. Rowan is tied to a large tree, about to be burned. Edward rescues Rowan and they run away through the woods, but Rowan leads him back to Sister Summersisle. Sister Summersisle thanks Rowan for her help, and Edward realizes that the search for Rowan was a trap. Sister Willow is Sister Summersisle's daughter, and his fate was sealed many years ago, when Sister Willow chose him. The villagers attack Edward and overpower him, viscously breaking his legs with a mallet to prevent him from escaping. Throughout all this, he keeps asking how can he be a good sacrifice if he does not believe in their religion. The women carry him to a giant wicker man and shut him inside. Rowan sets fire to the wicker man and Edward is sacrificed amid his screams and a giant blaze. The crowd chants "The drone must die!", believing that Edward's sacrifice will restore their honey production.
Six months later, Sisters Willow and Honey enter a bar and start talking with two off-duty police officers (James Franco and Jason Ritter). The women invite them to go home with them, presumably in hopes of using them as Edward was. The buzzing of bees and screaming from Edward Malus can be heard over Sister Honey as the film fades to black.
Cast
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- Nicolas Cage as Edward Malus
- Ellen Burstyn as Sister Summersisle
- Kate Beahan as Sister Willow Woodward
- Leelee Sobieski as Sister Honey
- Frances Conroy as Dr. T.H. Moss
- Molly Parker as Sister Rose / Sister Thorn
- Diane Delano as Sister Beech
- Mary Black as Sister Oak
- Christine Willes as Sister Violet
- Erika Shaye Gair as Rowan Woodward
- Michael Wiseman as Officer Pete
- David Purvis as Ivy
- Sophie Hough as Daisy
- Aaron Eckhart as Truck Stop Patron
- George A. Murphy as Virginity Protector
- Matthew Walker as Sea Plane Pilot
- James Franco as Bar Guy #1
- Jason Ritter as Bar Guy #2
Production
Universal Pictures had been planning a remake of The Wicker Man since the 1990s. The British film had been in the licensing library of Canal+, which was optioned by producer JoAnne Sellar to Universal. In March 2002 it was revealed that Neil LaBute was writing and directing The Wicker Man for Universal and Nicolas Cage's production company Saturn Films.[3] Around the same time, the original film's director Robin Hardy and star Christopher Lee were preparing a semi-remake of their 1973 film, titled The Riding of the Laddie, with Vanessa Redgrave and Lee's Lord of the Rings co-star Sean Astin attached. Hardy stated Lee would not play the villain as he did in the original Wicker Man, but instead a door-to-door born again Christian preacher who comes to Scotland along with his wife (Redgrave) as they are introduced to the neo-pagan cult. Hardy hoped for filming to begin in Glasgow, Scotland in 2003, but The Riding of the Laddie never materialized. Universal's remake with LaBute moved forward, who changed the Scots setting to contemporary America.[3] The remake rights eventually moved from Universal to Millennium Films. Filming began in Vancouver, Canada in July 2005.[4]
Reception
Box office
The Wicker Man opened on September 1, 2006 in 2,784 venues and earned $9,610,204 in its opening weekend, ranking third in the domestic box office.[5] The film closed on November 16, 2006 after eleven weeks of release, grossing $23,649,127 domestically and $15,105,946 overseas for a worldwide total of $38,755,073. Based on a $40 million budget, the film was a box office bomb.[2]
Critical reception
Upon release the film received mainly negative reviews from film critics. The film holds a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 105 reviews. The consensus says, "Puzzlingly misguided, Neil LaBute's update The Wicker Man struggles against unintentional comedy and fails."[6] CinemaScore gave it rating of "F" based on surveys from general audiences. On At the Movies, the film received two thumbs down from Richard Roeper and Aisha Tyler, although they both said the film was "entertainingly bad". The film was not without its positive reviews, however, as film critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, saw the film in a more positive light, with Gleiberman saying that director Neil LaBute brought some "innovation" over the original film.[7]
The original film's director, Robin Hardy, had expressed skepticism over the Hollywood remake, and had his lawyers make Warner Bros. remove his name from the remake's promotional material. According to Hardy, he was given writing credit for the screenplay, when he had not received any for the original. Christopher Lee, who played Lord Summerisle in the original film, commented: "I don't believe in remakes. You can make a follow up to a film, but to remake a movie with such history and success just doesn't make sense to me."[8]
Cage himself acknowledged that the film was "absurd." He remarked in 2010: "There is a mischievous mind at work on The Wicker Man, you know? You know what I mean? And I finally kind of said, 'I might have known that the movie was meant to be absurd.' But saying that now after the fact is OK, but to say it before the fact is not, because you have to let the movie have its own life."[9] In February 2012, Cage gave a live webchat with fans to promote Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. When asked what roles from his career he would most like to revisit, Cage responded, "I would like to hook up with one of the great Japanese filmmakers, like the master that made Ringu, and I would like to take The Wicker Man to Japan, except this time he's a ghost."[10]
Accolades
The film garnered five Golden Raspberry Award nominations:
- Worst Picture - lost to Basic Instinct 2
- Worst Actor (Cage) - lost to Marlon and Shawn Wayans for Little Man
- Worst Screenplay (LaBute) - lost to Leora Barish and Henry Bean for Basic Instinct 2
- Worst Remake or Rip-off - lost to Little Man
- Worst On-Screen Couple (Cage and his bear suit) - lost to Shawn Wayans and either Kerry Washington or Marlon Wayans for Little Man
Home media
The film was released on DVD on December 19, 2006, with an unrated alternate ending included. The film continues in the same way as the theatrical version, except the credits begin after the wicker man's burning head falls off, omitting the "6 months later" scene. However, it adds the bee torture scene, which has become an internet meme (specifically, Cage's line "Not the bees!"). A Blu-ray of the film was released on January 30, 2007.
References
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- ↑ The Wicker Man at Rotten Tomatoes
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External links
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