Wicker: Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Make Marriage the Strangest Fairy Tale of the Year
Wicker, starring Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who marries a man made of wicker played by Alexander Skarsgård, has opened in the US - what do the viewers think?
What happens when you build the perfect husband out of wicker, and he turns out to be better at marriage than everyone else in the village? That is the premise of Wicker, the fairy-tale romance starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård. It opened in US cinemas today to some of the warmest reviews of the autumn. UK and Irish audiences don’t have long to wait, as it arrives on Friday 30 October.
A Husband Made to Order
Colman plays a lonely fisherwoman in a medieval village, mocked by her neighbours and tired of being alone. Her solution is to commission the local basket weaver, played by Peter Dinklage, to weave her a husband. The result is Skarsgård, a devoted partner whose happy marriage soon has the rest of the village looking hard at their own.
Elizabeth Debicki, Nabhaan Rizwan and Richard E. Grant round out the supporting cast. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson wrote and directed, adapting Ursula Wills-Jones’s short story The Wicker Husband. The film was shot in Budapest and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
What the Critics Are Saying
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with a 92 per cent critics’ score from 86 reviews at the time of writing. One reviewer called it “the year’s most unexpected charmer”, and another awarded four stars, writing that “the execution is immaculate” and that “Olivia Colman is resplendent”. The same critic praised the production design, describing the “mucky but magical world of Wicker” as “exceptionally rendered”.
The central pairing is the other big draw. One review says the leads “share wonderful chemistry” and that they “keep the film honest even when Fischer and Wilson wiggle out of their own conceit”. The film’s broad humour also lands well, with one critic noting that it “leaves few safe from its delightful ire”.
The Reservations
Not everyone is fully won over. One reviewer found the film “undoubtedly fun and fresh-feeling”, with a clever riff on the institution of marriage. They felt, though, that “the third act runs out of steam” and that it ultimately “skates along on its quirkiness”.
Another critic made a similar point, finding the romantic stretches charming but the film less assured when it turns to the other plot threads in the village.
Watch the Trailer:
Before You Book
Wicker is rated R in the United States for brief nudity, sexual content and language, so this is very much a fairy tale for grown-ups. UK viewers should check the British certificate when booking.
If you’re a Colman completist, you can also catch up on her upcoming television work in our report on Channel 4’s Army of Shadows. With reviews this strong, Wicker looks set to be one of the most talked-about releases when it reaches UK and Irish cinemas next week.
