6
(strong Christian character, pagan practices)
3
(heavy sexuality, nudity, mild violence, disturbing concepts)
4
(see it if you have an interest in unusual suspense stories)
The Wicker Man is quite an interesting movie. It seems to be pushed as a horror typically, but it's really not, at least not in a monstrous or supernatural way. It is, however, potentially disturbing in a psychological way. This can be good or bad depending on what you like in a movie. If you're looking for a strong creep-out factor, gore, thrills, and excitement you might not get much out of this. If you like a well-written plot with interesting characters it might be worth a shot.
I would say the bulk of the movie is a clash of religious ideals. A detective has been sent to a private island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. The sergeant is a deeply religious man. He comes to realize that the people of the island practice pagan rituals and is disturbed by it down to his very soul. Nevertheless, he is determined to find out what happened to the girl particularly when he discovers that the entire town is lying about her.
Sgt. Howie, the investigator, has to deal not only with uncooperative people and contradictory stories, but also his own sensibilities and desires. Faced with the temptations posed by an openly sexual society he can either remain strong and chaste or allow himself to dabble in the pleasures of the people here. His horror at their practices seems to be as much a way to keep himself in line as it is true offense.
While the society may be open with its sexuality it keeps horrific secrets that come out as Howie uncovers the truth about the fate of the missing girl. Howie's sensibilities aren't the only thing on the line, his very life hinges on his ability to uncover the intentions of those that would do him harm.
A big plus to the movie is the acting prowess of the leads Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. Lee's involvement was a draw for me personally, but it was Woodward that really impressed me. Woodward's Sgt. Howie pulled me into the character in spite of the things that I didn't like about the Wicker Man. I wasn't necessarily impressed with all of the actors though nobody stood out as particularly bad. Overall I would say that the performances are acceptable with a few that are impressive.
The downfall of the movie is that it focuses so much on the presentation of the pagan ideas that the pace is slow for quite a while. The investigation serves to provide some intrigue early on, but we get nothing in the way of “horror” until the very end of the movie. Plot development essentially slows to a sloth's pace while we get acclimated to the strange way of life here. We've got the fundamentally different culture combined with the confusing nature of the mystery peppered with Howie's temptations. This doesn't create much in the way of excitement. With no thrills or chills for most of the movie you really need to be interested in seeing the contrast of religions or get pulled into the seemingly nonsensical mystery (I say “seemingly” because it turns out to make perfect sense if you stick around until the end) in order to keep your attention alive.
I did get pulled into the story, largely thanks to Woodward, but I was pulled out again by the music. There is so much singing that it begins to feel like a musical. I like very few musicals, that's just the way I am, so I spent most of the time during the music wishing we could get on with the story. I would have enjoyed the movie much more with a reduction in the musical content.
Morality
The pagan practices in this culture revolve a lot around sexuality, and there is a lot of that depicted throughout the movie. A general air of sexuality permeates the culture and conversation including a scene of teaching such things to young children. There are some sensual scenes including several couples having sex outside, a girl's attempts to seduce a man, and other such things.
Nudity includes a group of young girls frolicking naked (though they appear to be wearing body suits to give the appearance of nudity without actually being exposed), and various shots of bared breasts and butts here and there. Whatever the arguments against or in favor of the sexuality throughout the film may be, if there is one scene that really feels overly gratuitous it is a lengthy scene with the innkeeper's daughter as she sings a song while dancing nude. There's no need for her to be naked nor displayed as much as she is. We see so much of her chest and butt as she dances around seductively that I feel like I'm watching a softcore porn strip tease. It comes across as nothing more than a cheap titillation of the audience.
There is almost no strong language at all (I can only recall one instance). When the name “Jesus” is spoken it is actually a person calling out for Jesus.
There is very little real violence aside from the chasing and capture of one of the characters though even that is extremely mild as far as violence goes. However, there is at least one disturbing scene involving human sacrifice. It's not physically violent, but it is quite intense.
Spirituality
One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is the way its depiction of religion affects different viewers. Visit a message board and you will see much debate on who is really at fault, who deserves what they get, and even who wins at the end. Is Howie overly religious? Is he an unlikable character because of the way he handles himself as a Christian? Is he a fool because as an unmarried man he has chosen to remain a virgin at his age?
I think a legitimate case can be presented that Howie acts morally superior when he encounters people with a different view, but I think a lot of his reactions are based on the shock of seeing things that are so far out of the societal norm coupled with the disregard the people here seem to have for the law of the land which Howie is sworn to uphold with the life of a little girl potentially at stake here. He doesn't know how to handle something so contrary to his view of the world, which the society he knows largely embraces, so to cope he clings tighter to morality as he knows it.
Call him a “bigot” if you want, but Howie is out there to protect the well-being of a child while the opposition is killing innocent people in the name of religious sacrifice. And yet many comments I see on message boards consider Howie to be the one in the wrong, pushing his moral superiority on those who just want to make their crops grow (on the blood of the innocent). Are we then to persecute and kill Christians for their moral stances in the name of tolerance? Pardon me, but your hypocritical prejudice is showing.
Some think the sergeant a coward with no real faith. I see him as a man of staunch faith. When he confronts the people about their ways does he speak truth or does he reach for any plausible argument that might work? Others disagree, but I think that the Christian faith insofar as it is portrayed through Howie is done so fairly and respectfully, I would even go so far as to say honorably, at the end. What the larger message Howie's ultimate fate sends out is something I will leave for individual discussions.
Final Thoughts
There are some big positives and some big negatives for The Wicker Man. Movies that incite thought and debate are always more enjoyable than those quickly forgotten, and there is a great deal of disagreement on just what it is that this movie is trying to get across to viewers. The contrast of religions is fascinating, and the Christian character is portrayed well. By contrast I could do with fewer musical numbers and more of an ominous air throughout as well as less heavy-handed sexuality. It's worth consideration if you're looking for something that is not a run-of-the-mill horror movie, but while other Christians might be interested in seeing this based on what I've said of Howie's character, if you are uncomfortable with sexuality and nudity on screen you should be very careful with The Wicker Man.
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