featuring @lunapalacecinemas
There are love stories, and then there is Wicker — a wonderfully peculiar, cheeky and unexpectedly heartfelt fantasy romance that takes the idea of finding the perfect partner to a whole new level. Directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, the film stars Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage in a bizarre fairy tale that explores loneliness, desire, jealousy and the suffocating expectations society places on relationships.
At the centre of the story is a lonely fisherwoman who has become an outcast in her small village. Ridiculed by her neighbours and judged for her appearance and independence, she decides that if the conventional route to love isn’t working for her, perhaps she needs to try something a little different. Enter a local basketmaker, who agrees to create her a husband out of wicker. What follows is a wonderfully strange chain of events that challenges the village’s ideas about marriage, attraction and what it actually means to be loved.
The premise alone makes Wicker stand out, but what makes the film so enjoyable is the way it embraces its absurdity without losing sight of the emotions underneath. This isn’t simply a story about an unconventional romance; it’s also a pointed examination of a community that is far more comfortable judging someone else’s happiness than confronting its own unhappiness.
Colman is an absolute delight as the fisherwoman, bringing warmth, vulnerability and a stubborn sense of independence to a character who has spent much of her life being made to feel that she isn’t good enough. There is something genuinely moving about watching someone who has been dismissed by almost everyone around her finally experience affection without having to conform to society’s expectations.
The performance works because Colman never allows the character to become a simple punchline. Even when the film leans into its more outrageous comedic moments, there is a recognisable loneliness beneath the humour. Her character wants what so many people want: to be seen, accepted and loved for who she is.
Opposite her, Skarsgård makes an intriguing impression as the wicker husband. It’s an inherently ridiculous role, yet he approaches it with a surprising sincerity that makes the relationship feel more convincing than the premise might suggest. His character’s unusual physical construction is a source of visual comedy, but the performance is also gentle and attentive, giving the romance an unexpected sweetness.
The chemistry between Colman and Skarsgård is central to the film’s success. Their relationship is funny, unconventional and occasionally outrageous, but there is enough tenderness to make the emotional stakes feel real. The film understands that an ideal partner isn’t necessarily someone who fits a traditional mould; sometimes, it’s someone who makes you feel valued when the rest of the world refuses to do so.
One of the most entertaining aspects of Wicker is the way the fisherwoman’s happiness becomes a problem for everyone else. Rather than celebrating a woman who has finally found companionship, the village responds with suspicion, gossip and jealousy.
This is where the film’s satirical edge really comes into play. The community’s outrage reveals how deeply its people have internalised conventional ideas about marriage, gender roles and social status. The fisherwoman has broken the rules simply by finding happiness on her own terms, and that seems to threaten those who have spent their lives following them.
Visually, Wicker creates an appealing fairy-tale setting that feels charming. Its village, costumes and production design establish a world governed by old-fashioned traditions, where appearances and social standing carry enormous weight.
Final verdict
Wicker is a wonderfully offbeat romantic fantasy that finds humour, heart and social commentary in one of the strangest love stories of the year. Olivia Colman delivers a warm, engaging performance, while Alexander Skarsgård brings unexpected sincerity to a role that could easily have become a one-note joke.
What begins as an absurd tale about a woman ordering herself a husband gradually becomes a story about the cruelty of social expectations, the insecurity that can accompany love and the courage required to find happiness outside the boundaries others have established.
It’s funny, provocative, occasionally ridiculous and surprisingly tender — a fairy tale that reminds us that the real absurdity isn’t necessarily falling in love with someone made of wicker. It’s living in a world where other people believe they have the right to decide who deserves to be loved.
Screening at Luna Leederville, Windsor and Luna on SX from November 5.
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