October 22, 2026
FILM: WICKER
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: ALEX HUSTON FISCHER, ELEANOR WILSON (BASED ON A SHORT STORY BY URSULA WILLS)
STARRING: OLIVIA COLMAN, ALEXANDER SKARSGARD, PETER DINKLAGE
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There are fables meant for children and there are children’s fables that are really meant for adults. Then there is Wicker, an adult tale for and about adults. Based on a short story by Ursula Willis called Wicker Husband, this adaptation is by filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and concerns Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who is thriving on her own but wants a husband to get the local villagers off her back. She goes to the local basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, and asks him to make her that husband. Miraculously, he creates a well-endowed wicker man played by Alexander Skarsgard and soon jealousies and fantasies arise.
Wicker is the kind of film which could be compared to something by Monty Python and while there is definitely humor throughout, the tone evolves and meanders into something less joke driven and more to the level of a social commentary. When we first meet the fisherwoman she’s a bit of a happy spinster who walks with a limp in her frumpy, dirty clothes. She’s not that different from other women in town but she’s not married, which is something of a priority in this 1600s, medieval-like setting. Women are even given a “matrimonial collar” to signify their roles as “dutiful wives.” It’s not to say that the men are machismo stereotypes. Far from it. They have a variety of roles in the village including their work as a baker, tailor, or other community serving job. Most of these people are awkward and somewhat dissatisfied with their lives, but times being what they are, they go about their business – except for when the wicker husband stirs the village up.
The character is large and looming and, sorry to fans of Skarsgard’s handsome face, completely made of wicker. Yes, his blue eyes pierce through, his shape is muscular and, while we don’t ever see it, he’s got enviable anatomy. Interestingly, he also has a loving heart, a clever mind, and a monotone voice. How the basket maker has created these features is never explored. Even Dr. Frankenstein included some human parts in his monster! I’m not sure that it hurts the film to not know how he made this man-like basket but I guess that is part of the fable. We’re supposed to, like the characters in the film, accept him as is.
The wicker man also is quite handy around the house and a much more sensual and romantic lover than likely any other man in town. This is, of course, where a lot of the jealousies arise. In particular, the tailor’s wife, played by Elizabeth Debicki, loses her high ground as a kind of guiding mother to other women in the village thanks to something she doesn’t have but the fisherwoman now does.
All of this might sound a bit like a fairy tale but Wicker actually represents something larger. In this day of AI, it’s hard not to compare the wicker husband to what everyone dreams of or fears today: mankind creating something with super-human powers that might eventually take over the world. What if AI develops a heart and consciousness? Maybe it would be as warm and loving as Skarsgard’s character. At one point, a local person says that the figure is “poisoning their minds.” This compares to AI today seemingly influencing people’s thoughts and, worse, substituting for their ability to think. In the film, people want a version of the wicker husband in their lives. Aren’t many people today secretly hoping for AI that can make decisions for us, cook our food, clean our houses, and so on, just like Rosie on The Jetsons? Weren’t we promised that by television?
The actors, especially Olivia Colman, are all very good in their roles. They each know how to modulate their performances to move with the various plot turns and tonal shifts. There are definitely a few serious turns in the story but it is still entertaining and provocative in its own right. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Wicker opens theatrically October 23rd.
FILM: WICKER
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: ALEX HUSTON FISCHER, ELEANOR WILSON (BASED ON A SHORT STORY BY URSULA WILLS)
STARRING: OLIVIA COLMAN, ALEXANDER SKARSGARD, PETER DINKLAGE
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There are fables meant for children and there are children’s fables that are really meant for adults. Then there is Wicker, an adult tale for and about adults. Based on a short story by Ursula Willis called Wicker Husband, this adaptation is by filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and concerns Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who is thriving on her own but wants a husband to get the local villagers off her back. She goes to the local basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, and asks him to make her that husband. Miraculously, he creates a well-endowed wicker man played by Alexander Skarsgard and soon jealousies and fantasies arise.
Wicker is the kind of film which could be compared to something by Monty Python and while there is definitely humor throughout, the tone evolves and meanders into something less joke driven and more to the level of a social commentary. When we first meet the fisherwoman she’s a bit of a happy spinster who walks with a limp in her frumpy, dirty clothes. She’s not that different from other women in town but she’s not married, which is something of a priority in this 1600s, medieval-like setting. Women are even given a “matrimonial collar” to signify their roles as “dutiful wives.” It’s not to say that the men are machismo stereotypes. Far from it. They have a variety of roles in the village including their work as a baker, tailor, or other community serving job. Most of these people are awkward and somewhat dissatisfied with their lives, but times being what they are, they go about their business – except for when the wicker husband stirs the village up.
The character is large and looming and, sorry to fans of Skarsgard’s handsome face, completely made of wicker. Yes, his blue eyes pierce through, his shape is muscular and, while we don’t ever see it, he’s got enviable anatomy. Interestingly, he also has a loving heart, a clever mind, and a monotone voice. How the basket maker has created these features is never explored. Even Dr. Frankenstein included some human parts in his monster! I’m not sure that it hurts the film to not know how he made this man-like basket but I guess that is part of the fable. We’re supposed to, like the characters in the film, accept him as is.
The wicker man also is quite handy around the house and a much more sensual and romantic lover than likely any other man in town. This is, of course, where a lot of the jealousies arise. In particular, the tailor’s wife, played by Elizabeth Debicki, loses her high ground as a kind of guiding mother to other women in the village thanks to something she doesn’t have but the fisherwoman now does.
All of this might sound a bit like a fairy tale but Wicker actually represents something larger. In this day of AI, it’s hard not to compare the wicker husband to what everyone dreams of or fears today: mankind creating something with super-human powers that might eventually take over the world. What if AI develops a heart and consciousness? Maybe it would be as warm and loving as Skarsgard’s character. At one point, a local person says that the figure is “poisoning their minds.” This compares to AI today seemingly influencing people’s thoughts and, worse, substituting for their ability to think. In the film, people want a version of the wicker husband in their lives. Aren’t many people today secretly hoping for AI that can make decisions for us, cook our food, clean our houses, and so on, just like Rosie on The Jetsons? Weren’t we promised that by television?
The actors, especially Olivia Colman, are all very good in their roles. They each know how to modulate their performances to move with the various plot turns and tonal shifts. There are definitely a few serious turns in the story but it is still entertaining and provocative in its own right. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Wicker opens theatrically October 23rd.