THE STORY – A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband.
THE CAST – Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu & Nabhaan Rizwan
THE TEAM – Eleanor Wilson & Alex Huston Fischer (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 105 Minutes
For many film fans, seeing Olivia Colman’s face on a promotional image is enough to make a movie a must-see. Such is the case with “Wicker,” the latest film starring her and all her wonderfully weird, hilarious, and emotionally effective acting gifts. But she’s far from the film’s only selling point. Based on the short story “The Wicker Husband” by Ursula Wills-Jones, the latest film from writing-directing team Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson is a vulgar, horny, and unexpectedly heartwarming fable.
Once upon a time, there lived a fisherwoman. Sorry, let me rephrase. Once upon a time, Fisherwoman (we never learn the true name of Olivia Colman’s character) lived by herself in the woods. Every morning, she fishes in the nearby body of water and sells the fish in the nearby village. Despite being middle-aged, she doesn’t have and has never had a husband, unlike practically every other villager of adult age. One day, after tiring of the villagers’ taunts and jokes, she heads to the workshop of the only one who treats her with kindness: the Basket Maker (Peter Dinklage). She has an odd request for him: she wants him to build her a husband out of wicker. Instead of reacting with derision, Basket Maker is intrigued by the challenge. And through the kind of unexplained magic only found in fantastical stories like this, he successfully constructs a living man entirely out of wicker.
This Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård) first meets Fisherwoman at the church, dressed in his marital finest. Their wedding ceremony is speedy and tender, and it’s immediately apparent that the unexpected pair is perfect for each other (they don’t even feel the need to put the village’s traditional iron matrimonial collar on the bride). Fisherwoman and her Wicker Husband quickly fall into a harmonious daily rhythm. He spends the days fixing up the house and tending to the chores, and at night, they take part in bed-breaking acts of marital relations. But the villagers are skeptical of the Wicker Husband, and it’s not long before Fisherwoman’s nosy neighbors pose a threat to their happy married life.
The world that Fischer and Wilson have constructed is unified and fully realized. All of the characters speak with the same hilariously blunt lexicon. They’re all extremely frank and crass; little takes them by surprise, least of all the realities of their neighbors’ lives, such as sex, injury, and death. And the recurring gag of all of the characters referring to each other by their profession (Butcher, Tailor, Innkeeper) or their husband’s profession (Baker’s Wife, Bottle Washer’s Wife) never stops being humorous. It gives the story a timeless quality, calling to mind fairy tales that use a similar naming structure. But to have it used in this film, given the very adult, bawdy conversations that make up much of the film’s dialogue, gives it an absurd, not-quite-our-world quality. This bizarrely banal energy is also present in the village’s customs and superstitions. There’s the aforementioned matrimonial collar, and the villagers constantly practice quick yet elaborate hand movements to superstitiously ward off bad luck. And yes, it’s funny every time.
Olivia Colman is incapable of giving a bad performance. (Or if she has, I haven’t seen it.) “Wicker” is yet another impressive mark on her unblemished filmography. Here, all of her most pronounced acting gifts are used to full effect. She’s bold in her physical and comedic choices, unafraid to make herself look very silly and totally trusting in her directors’ vision. And of course, her heartbreaking emotionality helps make her character one of the few sympathetic ones in the film. Elizabeth Debicki, on the other hand, gives a deliciously villainous performance as the scheming Tailor’s Wife. She’s essentially the popular girl of the village, easily manipulating those around her to do her bidding and seemingly always getting her way. Debicki revels in this deviousness. And Alexander Skarsgård makes for the ideal companion, despite his unconventional appearance. The Wicker Husband constantly makes grand pronouncements of affection for Fisherwoman. He’s particularly fond of telling her he was “made for her,” which may be adorable, but it’s also true in the technical sense. Skarsgård leans into this tenderness, acting as an oasis for both his wife and the audience in what’s otherwise a desert filled with unpleasantness.
The makeup used to bring the Wicker Husband to life is simply astounding. Skarsgård’s face is completely covered in thatchwork, giving him a scarecrow-like appearance (no shade to Jonathan Bailey, but it’s similar to the work used on him in “Wicked: For Good,” but with the added bonus of actually being shot well). It’s a marvel of prosthetic work, least of all because he still manages to look handsome underneath it all. And when he’s seen in various states of undress, this detailed work extends over the rest of his body. It’s a wonder, and the film wouldn’t work if the construction of what’s essentially the titular role was ineffective. Luckily, the makeup team put in the work. It’s a major achievement in practical makeup.
Being a fable, it’s not surprising that the film tells a story that cautions against unwise traits of human behavior. With “Wicker,” the consequences of the villagers’ unkind actions serve as a warning against letting one’s deeds be fueled primarily by jealousy, especially if the supposed cure for coveting thy neighbor is to try to eliminate the source of this aggressive envy. Because it’s aiming for an old-fashioned storytelling energy, the grand movements of the plot can be a bit predictable, even if the manner in which this film executes its story is original. But without a doubt, despite the thorny group energy of the village, Fisherwoman and her Wicker Husband manage to build a lovely fairy tale existence for themselves. “Wicker” is a sweet, gently moving love story at its core that reminds its audience that the most effective and necessary traits for a successful relationship of any kind are simple honesty and respect.
