Plot: What’s it about?
About ten years ago I was watching Ebert and (then) Siskel and Roger Ebert was giving his rundown of the year’s best villains in film. One of his choices was the character “Chad” from the movie “In the Company of Men”. I’d never heard of it, so I finally tracked it down (on VHS no less), watched it and loved it. Now judge me all you like, but Chad was one hell of a mean guy and I was enthralled by director Neil Labute’s views on the subject matter. This is relevant, of course, because a decade later Labute has helmed the remake of the popular English movie “The Wicker Man” and put Nicholas Cage in the lead. Remakes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but the preface is that the remake will always be better – or to a lesser extent at least make money. To my knowledge this was neither, but it’s visually and stylistically something to write about. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s what I’m doing.
Edward Malus (Nicholas Cage) is a psychologically damaged policeman who travels to the mysterious Summersisle in response to a note from his ex-fiancée. It seems her daughter is missing, and she fears the feminist, pagan cult, to which she belongs, has kidnapped her. Edward takes the obvious tact of falling through rotting barn floors, locking himself in a submerged crypt, and getting stung by bees in order to solve the crime. And while it might not be clever detecting, it does allow for something to happen in the otherwise dead second act of the film. He also takes time out to have irrelevant dreams so that supernatural-looking events could get stuck in the trailer. Add to this Ellen Burnstyn and the allure of Leelee Sobeiski and we’ve got a lot going on without much explanation. The truth is that the original is far superior and though Labute’s heart was in the right place, this just didn’t work out for him. He needs his material a little more pointed and though his typical anti-women sentiment is radically present here, it’s one that will suffice as a rental.
Video: How does it look?
As I mentioned earlier, “The Wicker Man” is a visually enticing film full of hallucinations and the like. The 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer is certainly top notch and Warner has given it a nice treatment. I saw no hint of edge enhancement, colors – and a wide range of them at that – are near perfect and though a few scenes appear to be a bit on the soft side, it’s hard to tell if it’s a fault of the transfer or just the way it was intended to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s a nice, though “weird”, way to experience the movie but as far as looks go, this one’s hard to beat.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is explosive at times, though when you get right down to it, it’s just above average. Dialogue is very clear and clean and though the surrounds do their share of the work, I found most of the action to be limited to the front stage. There are a few instances of a true 360 degree soundfield that was fun and nearly dizzying at times. It’s the sign of a good soundtrack that can nearly make you sick to your stomach while trying to isolate where sounds come from, I tell ya.
Supplements: What are the extras?
“The Wicker Man” comes to us in two versions, the theatrical cut (on Side B) and the Unrated cut made for this DVD (on Side A). Naturally, having not seen the movie I went for the Unrated version which contained a few more minutes of footage than the theatrical cut. There’s also a commentary track by Writer/Director Neil Labute, Leelee Sobieski and some more members of the crew. Contrary to what you might think, they don’t spend the 102 minutes saying “I’m sorry” but LaBute does give some insights into the casting, production and shoot of the movie. Though I can’t recommend this movie to everyone, true fans will find this feature more than adequate. Lastly, the original theatrical trailer is also included.
