Open Channel: Clayface, Wildwood, Klara and Wicker Offer Four Very Different Movie Weekends Edition
Clayface takes center stage
Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose disfigurement pushes him to seek a way back to fame. He uses nanomachines to heal his face, but they also give him the ability to shapeshift. The film has no Batman appearance, leaving Hagen as the focus. The response to the movie has been positive; a later description spells the character’s surname “Hagan,” rather than “Hagen.”
Wicker turns toward romance
Wicker features Alexander Skarsgård as a man made from the material in the film’s title, created to be Olivia Colman’s husband. It is based on Ursula Willis’ short story The Wicker Husband.
The film has received a solid reception and generated online discussion. Its romance-novel-inspired poster and premise have helped draw attention.
Wildwood and Klara diverge
Laika’s Wildwood has been promoted for its spectacle and the work behind it. The film has received a strong response, with some calling it the studio’s best work yet.
In Klara & the Sun, Jenna Ortega plays an android companion bought for a sick girl. Taika Waititi directed the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, but reviews have been unkind; viewers may still like it more than critics do.
Key points
- Clayface follows actor Matt Hagen as nanomachines give him a healed face and shapeshifting powers.
- Wicker stars Alexander Skarsgård as a man made to be Olivia Colman’s husband.
- Some viewers have called Laika’s Wildwood the studio’s best work yet.
- Klara & the Sun adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, with Jenna Ortega as an android.