By Jason Osiason

Wicker is basically a fable where a lonely fisherwoman, played by Olivia Colman, asks a local basket maker played by Peter Dinklage to weave her a husband out of wicker. Yes, really. The husband is played by Alexander Skarsgard and the whole situation begins because Colman’s character simply wants someone to love and, very specifically, someone to sleep with. Which she does. A lot. The movie does not shy away from the logistics either. There is hot sweaty sex and at one point we even see the wooden anatomy.

It is the kind of premise that sounds like it should be aggressively whimsical. A wicker husband walking around a quiet village feels like the setup for something extremely twee. But the movie pointedly refuses to lean into that kind of ultra whimsy and it ends up being the smartest choice the film makes.

Instead it plays the whole thing surprisingly straight. Olivia Colman anchors the movie with that mix of sadness and dry humor she does better than almost anyone. Her loneliness never becomes a punchline even when the premise absolutely invites it. Peter Dinklage brings a grounded warmth as the craftsman who literally builds this husband, and Alexander Skarsgard somehow manages to make a wicker man feel oddly gentle and tender.

What begins as an absurd premise slowly evolves into something softer and more reflective. The film becomes less about the novelty of a wooden husband and more about unfulfillment and the strange paths people take trying to be loved. The characters are all quietly searching for connection in ways that are awkward, funny, and a little heartbreaking.

I also spent half the movie trying to figure out how they actually pulled off Skarsgard’s wicker look. The woodwork is so tactile and detailed that I genuinely could not tell if it was entirely costume and prosthetics or if some subtle visual effects were helping along the way.

The humor mostly works because nobody treats the situation like a joke. The world of the film fully accepts the existence of this wicker husband and that commitment lets the story land both its sillier and more sincere moments.

It is very much a polished festival crowdpleaser. The kind of odd but accessible movie that feels extremely Focus Features coded. A little weird, a little whimsy, actor driven with strong period perfomrnace, but warm enough that audiences stay with it and for the most part it works. [B]