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When Robin Hardy made his first feature film in 1973 his future looked bright. He had already forged a successful career in television directing and was a partner in his own advertising business with the writer Anthony Shaffer. Their established relationship led them to create The Wicker Man, a dark, nihilistic film that bucked the then topical trend for occult or supernatural themes for a decidedly realistic look at pagan belief and sacrifice. Driven by a fantastic score of folk music and intensely realistic performances it remains to this day one of the best British horror films ever made.
However, it's dark, adult themes, lack of humour and its infamous ending meant that it was definitely ahead of its time. In fact, so far removed from the then common template of British horror films was it that the very aspects that made it a classic meant that it was deemed non-commercial in the eyes of its new owners at EMI. The original producer British Lion had been bought out by the corporate giant and as often happens the new executives did not value their new acquisition. They effectively ditched the film by cutting it and using it as a second feature (a common practice in the 70s when double features were considered good business models).
Despite Christopher Lee rating it as one of the finest films he had appeared in, a claim he still maintains this day, the bastardised version of the film was never going to get the critical or commercial success it deserved in its truncated form. Due to its very low budget it no doubt made a profit for its new owners, but for both the film and its director's reputation the damage was done. And so, before it began and through no fault of his own, Hardys film career was stalled and it would be 13 years before he would next direct a film.
His second film was The Fantasist, based on the novel Goosefoot, by Patrick McGinley. Unfortunately this film was both a critical and commercial flop at the time, and languished, almost forgotten, until it was released on DVD in the UK in 2006. This was at a time when The Wicker Man was arguably reaching its critical highpoint, even being rereleased theatrically in 2007. The completely pointless remake in 2006 by Neil LaBute just served to further exemplify how brilliant the original is and will be mentioned no more!
The Fantasist tells the story of Patricia, an attractive, naive young Irish girl from the countryside who moves to Dublin and soon finds herself the object of attention to a growing number of enamoured men. At the same time a serial killer is also making his presence felt in the big city and it is not long before her free spirited ways means she comes to the attention of this decidedly disturbed individual. The killer always serenades his victims with flattering telephone calls and Patricia is at first pleased to have a secret admirer, but she is spoilt for choice as to who he may be. Conflicted by her burgeoning sexuality and surrounded by deeply twisted men who all harbour some dark secret, Patricia will learn that being the object of someones fantasy can be deadly.
So how does The Fantasist compare against its more famous sibling? To this day Robin Hardy has never made another feature film, although he was recently linked to direct a reimagining of The Wicker Man, based on his 2006 novel, Cowboys for Christ. Was the failure of The Fantasist deserved, as its critical reputation implies, or is it a film ripe for rediscovery?
The first feeling you get as you watch The Fantasist is how amazing the photography looks. Despite its low budget, it is really well shot and is always interesting to the eye. There are a number of memorable shots that highlight how proficient Hardy was as a visual director. A scene on a fairground ride and an over the shoulder shot of the police narrowly missing out on capturing a suspect show real flourish, but sadly it is here that the positives end!
It does not take long to realize how bizarre the storyline is. Although there is an argument that the film successfully shows how weird the male characters are, it is completely unrealistic not to expect Patricia to running screaming the minute any of these freaks confess or display their collective perversions. For a supposedly innocent girl she seems capable of forgiving anyone of anything. A depraved teacher with a balloon fetish wants his tummy to be rubbed before being masturbated in a car. Patricia laughs that off and says how sweet he is! Another freak who is suspected of murdering his wife gets invited over to the family home for a nice meal! If a slasher film is to succeed it has to have a believable connection between the main victim and killer, it needs to maintain tension by allowing the audience to doubt as to who may be the killer. Here it is ludicrous how Patricia continues to socialise with these people given the very real threat to her life as all of the male characters behaviour is so demented. Disbelief can not be suspended with regards to this fundamental plot device, which is but one of its major flaws.
Alongside this is how over the top some of the actors' performances are. Timothy Bottoms seems to be playing his role as a broad comedy. His comic potential shows why he made a great George Bush in the much underrated sitcom, Thats My Bush, from the South Park team, but it is in no way suitable for a adult thriller as his performance is laughably bad. It is a sign of the films wayward approach that his OTT characterisation seems almost the norm among all the male characters and it is a shame that because of the storylines absurdities that Moira Harriss warm playing of Patricia is lost in an excess of overacting.
This begs the question of whether Hardy was aware of how the tone of the acting seriously undermines his film? Of course it is a film of eccentrics, but they are all so extreme and unattractive that you just cannot accept them. There are scenes in this film that seem really childish, moments that take you out of the movie and make you ask what is happening, it is so unbelievable! This is all the harder to believe in comparison to how well Hardy sold the premise of pagan behaviour in his earlier film. It is bizarre that he could make a totally realistic film about extreme pagan behaviour, orgies and human sacrifice but makes The Fantasist seem cliched, unrealistic and inexplicably peculiar.
It seems redundant to criticise the unmasking of the killer, suffice to say that in common with most other lazy slasher films and occasional episodes of Scooby Doo it could have been anybody in the film as the reason for the murders is so nondescript! A lot has been written about the capitulation of Patricia in the final encounter with the killer, but considering the weirdness that has preceded this why shouldn't she willingly have hot sex with him! It is just another example of how bafflingly bizarre everything is. It is a film that is both titillated by sex but appalled by it. It portrays everyone as a freak bar Patricia but then degrades her by having her fornicate her way to safety. It leaves the viewer feeling dirty, a trait common with the equally sleazy sex comedies prevalent in the UK in the seventies. The idea that she will have sex with him is repugnant and serves as the final insult for the viewer who may have got that far and still cared what happened to Patricia.
Considering the moral viewpoint prevalent in Ireland at the time of making this film I am amazed Hardy felt he could represent the country in this manner. In a country where sexual repression was common the idea of a film populated with nothing but freaks and perverts is a controversial at best! Another factor is that there really are no sympathetic characters in this film. Even Patricia eventually alienates the viewer with her continued disregard for common sense or her own safety. Every other character is an Irish stereotype of the lowest order, country farmers with a drink problem, chauvinist males with at least one major perversion and simpering women who act like victims.
If this seems like a complete slating, it is, but with a number of provisos. Firstly, because of all the aforementioned weirdness and because of its flaws, it is actually quite watchable. Not in a so bad it is funny way, but more in a how not to make a movie kind of way. Perversely it works as a perfect counterpoint to The Wicker Man. Hardy's first film works in creating a believable world despite its subject matter, having a gripping narrative drive and affecting performances so it all fits together perfectly creating a truly powerful film. On the other hand The Fantasist is a complete mess, nothing makes sense, the acting for the most part is atrocious and it never engages the viewer as it is so wilfully weird.
Secondly and more pertinently I would never presume to think that my opinion is the be all and end all. This is purely my own opinion and I feel strongly that any true film fan uses a review like this as a springboard for his or her own examination of the film. Ultimately any review is incomplete until the reader has themselves watched the film in question. As this DVD can be bought very cheaply I recommend just that.
By itself you can understand The Fantasist's lack of success and almost immediate disappearance from view. However, seen in conjunction with The Wicker Man it becomes something else. The film business is an incredibly complicated and subjective industry. What would have happened to the Wicker Man if it had not been tampered with originally? Was Hardy's directorial career irretrievably damaged because of that event? All directors have ups and downs in their career, but it seems Hardy was never able to build on the (eventual) success of his first film. Given how loved The Wicker Man is, and the subsequent travails he suffered, The Fantasist can be seen as a flawed film from a talented director who never got the breaks he deserved. The joy of DVD is that we can revisit these rare films and make up our own minds and follow the paths of our favourite actors and directors. Sadly Robin Hardy was never given the chance to direct more features. Let us hope that he gets the funding to make Cowboys for Christ and prove his talent to us once again.