Starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Elizabeth Debicki and Peter Dinklage, Wicker is a romantic fantasy tale that sees wood put to good use. Written and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, the film follows a spinster Fisherwoman (Colman) who commissions a basket maker (Dinklage) to make her a husband. Soon, she and the creation, a well-built man of wicker (Skarsgård), form a loving attachment that raises the eyebrows—and expectations—of her village.
At the start of the film, the middle-aged Fisherwoman is ridiculed for her job and overall frumpiness. In the eyes of everyone around her, she is ineligible, nay, written off as a prospective wife. But the fact that she is open to finding a partner so unconventional highlights her defiance of societal norms. The village is full of ungrateful husbands, leering men and women who are expected to stay at home, take care of the children, marry and have babies. Furthermore, they are possessions in the men’s lives where brides are ‘collared’ by their grooms at weddings and have no individual identity. They are only seen as daughters, wives and mothers, with their skills and ambitions (for instance, Debicki’s frustrated Tailor’s Wife) mostly ignored. This creates a traditional setting that easily dismisses Fisherwoman as another ‘loser in love’. But instead, she flips the tables on those around her by indulging in an enviable relationship.
The narrative beautifully handles the changing mentalities of the village people as they are increasingly disarmed by the relationship between the Wicker Husband and the Fisherwoman. In a notable scene, she is unsure how to dance when the village people follow a routine, step by step. She allows the Wicker Husband to take the lead in an intimate moment, and they slowly lose themselves in each other. The women subsequently become more resentful that they aren’t being paid enough attention while the men are shamed by the Wicker Husband’s commitment to his wife’s happiness. Going beyond simple “wood” innuendos and jokes – a fate to which Wicker could have easily descended – the screenplay challenges how the sexes see relationships: where romance and desires is centred over duty and marital roles.
Colman’s expressive performance makes her an endearing heroine, assertive in being her own person yet grounded to allow the Fisherwoman’s insecurities to affect her confidence. Even in a practical wicker suit and prosthetics, Skarsgård is swoonworthy as the loving Wicker Husband, conveying a controlled physicality that doesn’t distract his comically deadpan delivery. When it comes to the supporting cast, Dinklage offers gravitas as the poetic Basket Weaver while Debicki’s cold delivery of her character’s snideness solidifies her as the feature’s queen bee (and main antagonist).
Despite Wicker‘s medieval settings, the filmmakers lighten Ursula Wills-Jones’ tale with a tender touch. Anna Meredith’s whimsical score adds to the film’s dark humour while Fischer and Wilson combine gothic notes with a sunny disposition. Wicker‘s focus is more on the romance than the unconventional origins of the eponymous character—an easy accomplishment when the Wicker Husband raises the bar in cinema’s Mr Perfect.
Humourously heartwarming, Wicker is nothing but conventional—and it is all the more memorable for it. Colman and Skarsgård shine in this weird yet wonderful romance, with some of the most quotable lines in cinema this year.
Wicker is shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2026.
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Director: Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
Stars: Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Richard E. Grant, Peter Dinklage, Ella Bruccoleri, Ben Ashenden
Runtime: 105 minutes
Country: UK, USA, Australia
