Wicker review

WICKER: 

A DELIGHTFULLY WEIRD ROMANCE BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A LITERAL WICKER MAN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

BLACK BEAR PICTURES

Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård in Wicker

 

            In the tradition of Edward Scissorhands, The Shape of Water, and Fifty Shades of Grey, we have probably the most bizarre human/creature romance ever in Wicker, the directorial debut of Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, based on the short story, The Wicker Husband by Ursula Wills. The movie looked wild when I first saw the trailer and continues the trend of putting Oliva Colman (The Favourite, Paddington in Peru, The Roses) in weird-ass films.

            Well, I can gladly say that Fischer and Wilson made a damn good product out of a bizarre premise such as a woman falling in love with a wicker man, though I could have used Nicolas Cage and bees. Wicker is as weird as you’d expect if you saw the trailer, but goddamn, it is an entertaining ride; I was shocked and laughing constantly during this film. 

            The film follows an unnamed and lonely Fisherwoman (Colman) who gets fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbors and commissions a husband made of wicker from the Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage-Game of Thrones, Avengers: Infinity War, The Toxic Avenger (2023)). Once the Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård-The Northman, Infinity Pool, Pillion) is introduced with such an unconventional romance between him and the Fisherwoman, sparks of outrage, jealousy, and chaos begin brewing in the town. 

            The film also stars Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and 3, MaXXXine) as the Tailor’s Wife, Marli Siu (Run, Alex Rider, Apartment 7A) as the Tailor’s Wife’s Sister, Nabhaan Rizwan (1917, Juice, Kaos) as the Tailor, Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia, Chicken Run, House of the Dragon) as the Butcher, Richard E. Grant (Logan, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Wildwood) as the Doctor, Gustav Lindh (The Circle, The Promised Land, Industry) as the Bottlewasher, Ella Bruccoleri (Call the Midwife, Polite Society, The Other Bennet Sister) as the Baker’s Wife, Ben Ashenden (Black Mirror, Jurassic World: Dominion, Deep Cover) as the Baker, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Stath Lets Flats, Ghosts, Enterprice) as the Innkeeper. 

            Overall, Wicker is unhinged, unconventional chaos that also works as a Beauty and the Beast-style romance story. Despite the odd premise, Colman and Skarsgård do have strong chemistry and want to see them together; I bought their love for each other for as fucking absurd and weird this concept is. 

            That all comes from the performances by Colman and Skarsgård, who are both incredible in the film. Colman, for all this movie’s insanity, gives a very compelling and relatable performance as a lonely woman looking for love; I found her believable and more restrained compared to her bombastic performance in The Favourite. 

            Alexander Skarsgård is also amazing as the Wicker Husband in kind of a fish-out-of-water scenario, with him trying to understand this new world he was born in, and the townspeople are completely shocked by his presence. His performance was giving me Edward Scissorhands vibes, where the monster ends up being more human than 99% of the actual humans in the town, and it’s a delight to see him interact with both Colman and the other townspeople. 

            All the other actors are enjoyable to watch, though aside from Peter Dinklage, they aren’t as focused on as Colman and Skarsgård. Dinklage is great as the Basket Weaver, and Elizabeth Debicki is a lot of fun as the Tailor’s Wife who is completely dumbfounded by Colman’s Wicker Husband; she has some genuinely funny reactions to things in the film. 

            The effects from Weta Workshop of Lord of the Rings fame are amazing, and most of it is created practically; Alexander Skarsgård is completely buried in this basket-like makeup, and I was simply in awe every time he was onscreen in the full makeup and costume. If this somehow gets snubbed for a Best Makeup Oscar nomination next year, I’m gonna be so fucking pissed because The Wicker Husband is one of the best practically-created characters I’ve seen in a long time, especially in this CGI-heavy modern day. 

            I’m not joking by admitting this, but a lot of what makes this film so funny is how unapologetically horny and kinky everything and everyone is. Townspeople making crude gestures to resemble penises, married couples putting on metal collars around their necks instead of rings, and the Wicker Husband getting literal wood- it’s like Fifty Shades of Grey or the vampire sex scene from Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 if they were intentionally funny. 

            I enjoyed my time with this film though I have some minor criticisms; there are some times where scenes drag and you could have cut like 15 minutes off the runtime and make it a little tighter. Those issues do not ruin the movie, and I was still invested in what I was looking at, but they do keep it from being great. 

            Wicker is a chaotically sexy and funny romantic fantasy with amazing performances by its leads, equally stellar makeup effects, and an unhinged and unconventional story that embraces its bizarre premise. It’s a weird, funny, but also strangely beautiful fable I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.