Have you ever thought that you’ve spent your entire life alone while everyone is moving on with their lives, getting married and having kids? Has the thought ever come across your mind to create yourself the perfect partner? If you answered yes to both of these questions, would you make your dream partner out of wicker? Well, that’s what the Fisherwoman (Olivia Coleman) decides to do once she’s made fun of for not having a husband. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson take Ursula Wills’ fable, “The Wicker Husband,” and manage to bring it straight to life. As someone who has never read the original short story, it still felt like I was watching a movie that easily derived from such a format.
Wicker follows Fisherwoman, a middle-aged woman who’s seemingly the only adult woman in the town that hasn’t been wedded, and finds herself asking the Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage) to create her a husband made from wicker. Once the Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård) is introduced, it changes how everyone in the town begins to view their marriage.
The humour and writing in Wicker immediately works from the jump, as the characters aren’t traditionally named and instead are named after their professions such as “tailor” and “baker”. This tradition continues, as their wives are named after their husbands’ professions, with Elizabeth Debecki playing the Tailor’s Wife. That’s just not a simple description of who she is; that’s exactly how she’s referred to in the movie by other characters. For a movie that deals with topics such as sex and death, this leads to the naming of the characters to lend to the absurdness of the world we find ourselves in.
There’s never an explanation on how Basket Weaver is able to just bring to life an entire man, but it’s also not questioned that he’s capable of such a feat. When Fisherwoman meets up with Wicker Husband, she quickly learns of everything she was missing out on. She’s finally got someone to share a house with. He aids her with all the chores, helps with her profession, and mends the bed every morning after they have viciously aggressive sex every night. The sound that came from Wicker Husband getting erect was enough to understand that the crew behind Wicker were having an absolute blast.
At first, the women in the town begin to act negatively towards Fisherwoman finally having a husband, especially one that looks as abnormal as Wicker Husband looks. It’s here that Wicker begins to start taking shape with its message. They live in a time when women are treated as possessive items for their men. A wedding takes place what seems like every other week, and instead of the officiator saying you are now “husband and wife”, it’s now “man and his wife”.
When the men and women begin to see how Wicker Husband treats Fisherwoman, the women begin to understand that it’s possible for them to want a little more out of their relationships that don’t just involve cleaning, cooking, and bearing children. The men who retest the idea of doing more for their wives start to realise that the concept might allow to unlock a whole new layer within their relationships.
It all comes down to the devotion that these characters have for each other. Before Wicker Husband came along, everyone lived their lives the only way they knew how. In some ways, Wicker feels like Obsession but the alternate universe where everything went well. The relationship between Fisherwoman and Wicker Husband wakes up the entire town and provides them with an epiphany that slightly sends them into chaos as they begin to break free from their usual structure.
The performances across the board in Wicker are nothing short of pure excellence. Elizabeth Debicki portrays this villainous, jealous and self-centred lady that manages to manipulate the women of the town. Aside from the two leads, Debicki fully takes charge with this devilish performance. Olivia Coleman highlights once again that she knows how to control any genre, perfectly balancing the comedic and dramatic elements of Wicker. It’s her joint performance with Alexander Skarsgård that truly brings the heart into this film as he shares his constant undying affection for her.
His performance is transformative with the incredible hair and makeup that slightly make him look like a scarecrow come to life. To make Skarsgård look sexually attractive under all that makeup is a true test to the crew’s skill and a massive achievement. The detail on Wicker Husband doesn’t just stop at his face; it runs throughout his entire body, showing the intricate and delicate design that the Basket Weaver puts into him, which also gives a look into his personality.
Wicker is ultimately a movie that takes a fabel-like story and teaches its audience not to allow jealousy to control you. While the women of the village find themselves extremely horny for Wicker Husband and his love, it’s a showcase of what true love really looks like. A poignant, heartfelt, hilarious story that shows what happens when an entire town discovers how being devoted to your partner can change the entire dynamic of the relationship.
