Films like this, “Lisa Frankenstein,” and “The Shape of Water” are slowly forming their own fairytale romance cinematic universe…
“Wicker” follows a lonely fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who asks the local basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband (Alexander Skarsgård). Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Richard E. Grant also star, as Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson write and direct.
In recent years there have been a number of “humans fall in love with humanoid creatures” movies, such as “Lisa Frankenstein” (a living corpse), “The Shape of Water” (a fishman), and “Companion” (an A.I. robot). “Wicker” is the latest film to join the trend, but it actually is a lot more gentle and endearing than its trailers and premise make it out to be, thanks to a cast that understands the kind of film they’re in.
Olivia Colman is one of our more charming and diverse actors, able to be in emotional dramas like “The Father,” goofy kids’ films (“Paddington in Peru”), and occasionally collecting a big-budget paycheck (as part of Marvel’s “Secret Invasion”). In “Wicker,” she plays her small village’s fisherwoman, often mocked for her smell and the bachelorette stature, but is typically able to brush it off (she’s essentially playing a slightly-less vulgar version of her “Wicked Little Letters” character). She and Alexander Skarsgård have a warm, almost odd couple chemistry together, and their fish out of water romance produces some chuckles.
Elizabeth Debicki is fun as the cold de facto matriarch of the village, who comes to judge Colman’s relationship, and her dry remarks are amusing. Peter Dinklage is also the sneaky MVP as the basketmaker, who like Colman feels like a bit of an outsider.
The sound design of Skarsgård’s Wickerman is impressive, with wind blowing through the slits in his arms and his back creeking as he bends over. The film may not do as much with the idea of a basket weaver creating a sentient being as it could have, but the film is largely played as a “just roll with it” sort of universe. I liked the themes of being ok with solitude and leaving well-enough alone, and also to not judge others because you never know their own struggles. The film does occasionally over-compensate to the point of being heavy handed, but it is always appreciated when movies aren’t just skin (or, wicker) deep.
“Wicker” is an easy, enjoyable adult fairytale that surprised me with how watchable I found it. The cast are all lovely and there are a welcome amount of jokes that land, and in a world of superheroes, boogiemen, and A.I. doomsdays take up so many screens, sometimes we need a little whimsy at the movies.
Critics Rating: 7/10
