Wicker

As a single guy dealing with the nightmare of dating in 2026, I’ve reached the point where all options are on the table. I don’t know what the future of dating looks like. Maybe we’re headed toward Demolition Man, where intimacy goes virtual to avoid exchanging bodily fluids. Or maybe it’s The Lobster, where you get turned into an animal if you don’t find love within 45 days. Whatever comes next, let’s talk, because Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s Wicker presents an idea I might actually be down for.

In a small medieval farming town, Olivia Colman plays a woman known simply as Fisherwoman. If you can’t guess what she does, she fishes. She mostly keeps to herself, venturing into town to sell her daily catch. It’s easy to understand why she prefers her own company. Led by the Tailor’s Wife (Elizabeth Debicki), the townspeople ridicule her for her lingering fish smell and her rejection of marriage. Still, a woman has needs.

So she approaches the Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage) with an unusual request: make her a husband out of wicker. Naturally, he grants her wish, and her new Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård) turns out to be just about everything a woman could ask for. You know, aside from being made of wicker.

As Fisherwoman’s happiness grows, so does her confidence to stand up for herself. But some people can’t stand seeing someone else happy when they’re miserable. The Tailor’s Wife starts planting the idea that the Wicker Husband might be enjoying the company of other women in town. Needless to say, that stirs up a little chaos and threatens the happiness Fisherwoman has finally found.

Written by Fischer and Wilson and adapted from Ursula Wills’s short story, Wicker is simply a delight. The filmmakers weave a lovely fable that expands on the original tale while staying true to its world. On the surface, it looks like a straightforward happily-ever-after story, with Fisherwoman finally getting her moment. But Fischer and Wilson have a little more mischief in mind. They take a simple premise and turn it into a playful comedy full of unexpected developments, sweeping us off our feet along the way.

Wicker is daring, but it also understands that no matter how fantastical a story gets, the emotions still need to feel real. Much of that comes down to the cast, who are all on top of their game. Colman brings such warmth and humanity to Fisherwoman, letting us see her insecurities without allowing them to define her. Skarsgård, meanwhile, finds a surprising softness beneath his character’s rigid wicker exterior. Together, they make this unusual romance feel believable. The supporting characters feel fully formed, too, helping bring this quaint little world to life.

As much as I loved the story, the pacing does hit a few bumps. Some stretches feel longer than they need to be, but the laughs keep coming, and the ending is rewarding, even if it’s a little absurd. Wicker is the kind of movie I can see myself happily revisiting. Between its charming world and the chemistry between Colman and Skarsgård, this love story is hard to resist.

Brian Taylor

Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema