:: Willard ::

* * * 1/2

I have never seen the original Willard, and believed that this might be a serious handicap to my enjoyment of the 2003 edition. After all, no one would remake the '70s horror film about killer rats most infamous for the Jackson Five theme of its sequel, unless for purposes of kitsch. I was surely about to watch a movie filled with smug in-jokes and glib mockeries of '70s style. Then again, I thought, Crispin Glover is in it, and it looks like the filmmakers are going for that stylish post-modern noir that is all the rage, or at least would be if any of those films made money. But having seen the film, I now see that it encompasses both these elements, and yet is much, much more: Willard is a very enjoyable psychological suspense film, able to get under your skin not because of the creepy rodents, but because it presents, to an audience (at least in my case) lulled into vulnerability by their expecations, a far more disturbing portrait of the human psyche pushed to the edge.

Crispin Glover plays this man-child on the verge of collapse, as perhaps no one else could. Mr. Glover must be getting old (how long ago was Back to the Future?), yet going to work in his father's ill-fitting suit, he looks as though he is in the throes of adolescence. In fact, Willard is still grapling with the issues of adolescence, making friends, dealing with women, escpaing the shadow of his dead father and the considerable pull of his invalid, overbearing mother (at least she's sorry that its her fault her son's life was a waste, and tells him this). Norman Bates comes to mind, and the comparisons to Psycho are unavoidable when thinking about Willard Styles.

In thinking about Willard's friends, however, the movie that comes to mind is The Birds. Actually, there's probably less blood in this film than The Birds, a surprising show of restraint given the trend in modern movies. (Big) Ben, the biggest, baddest rat of them all, has his moments of violence, gnawing faces or (most disturbing in its defiance) a foot, but he's far more terrifying when he's just sitting staring back at the camera, and perhaps has his strongest presence when not on screen at all. Once Willard realizes just how strong-willed a rat can be, he sleeps with a wooden cane, to club Ben with when he tries to get in bed with him and Socrates (Willard's favorite rat). After thoroughly rat-proofing his room, Willard goes to sleep, and later awakens to the gnawed remains of his cane.

Willard owes a lot to Hitchcock, and I'm so glad I didn't know that going in. If I'd known that was the intent, I don't think I'd have seen the film. If there is one thing the world does not need, its a remake of a '70s horror flick that takes itself too seriously. But having been lured into the theater with the promise of unassuming dark comedy, I was pleasantly surprised by the film's boldness in making a film of such gravitas. There is self-mockery and a definate kitsch factor to the film (did the rats really need to be fed a treat called "Numm Nuts?"), and the film does revel in style over substance at times (mainly the climax of the film, where the focus on style was appropriate and entertaining), but Hitchcock's influence is palpable. Crispin Glover himself has gone so far as to venture a comparison of his character and Hamlet: "Hamlet is a character who never comes to a decision, who doesn't act until its too late. There is a father who died but remains a specter. There is the closeness with the mother. There is the contemplation of suicide: Willard's 'to be or not to be' scene." That sort of quote, had I encountered it before seeing the movie, may had assured I would never see it, which would have been a shame, for as grandiose as Glover's claims sound, he's right.