A fun mixture of fairy tale and sex comedy.
How this basket maker can bring his wicker people to life is beyond me. It’s never really explained how they gain consciousness, other than his poetic philosophy on people and personalities. And then again, it wasn’t explained how that robot and human girl could have kids in “Minions & Monsters,” which was a cartoon. “Wicker” is live-action and the results are wickedly funny and dangerously sexy.
Imagine if Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” never went to the castle and was still living in her village up to her 50s. And imagine if she became a fishmonger. That position would go to Olivia Colman, who plays a woman named the Fisherwoman. In fact, everyone in town is named by their positions. There’s the Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage), the Tailor (Nabhaan Rizwan), the Tailor’s Wife (Elizabeth Dibicki), the Tailor’s Wife’s sister (Marli Siu), and the Doctor (Richard E. Grant). A majority of the townsfolk think the Fisherwoman is undatable because of her fishy smell, and she wouldn’t date either of them.
This Basket Weaver can make egg bombs, which is in the tradition of catching the bouquet at the wedding, except they blow up yellow dust, and if you get purple, then you know the deal. And after the Fisherwoman accidentally gets covered in purple, she asks the Basket Weaver to make her a husband, and he does. Alexander Skarsgard plays the Wicker Husband, and he not only works as an ideal sex buddy, but also a brilliant carpenter. Although I wonder if she’ll get splinters in places I shouldn’t mention. But let’s be glad this movie is R-rated and not NC-17 or Not Rated as the MPA is going for these days.
As the relationship continues, there’s a lot of conflicts regarding the Tailor’s Wife being the snooty one and the Fisherwomen being the cautious one. If her Wicker Husband is a perfect sex machine, then would the other women want him?
“Wicker,” based on Ursula Willis’ short story “The Wicker Husband,” was written and directed by husband and wife filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who both made the witty “Save Yourselves.” Their next feature is a sexy, comical, and visually impressive blend of sex comedy and fairy tale. And it’s also one of the many examples of how there are fairy tales made only for adults and teens, like “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Black Swan,” and “Edward Scissorhands.” Kids see fairy tales at one level, while adults see them in a whole new perspective. “Wicker” speaks to the adults, who look for a strong sense of humor, who look for whimsical characters, and are tested by the originality that emerges within.
The effects for the Wicker Man are incredible. They were done at Weta Workshop, which helped make the “Lord of the Rings” and “Avatar” movies look so exhilarating. It began with a digital scan of Sakrsgard’s body, then prosthetics were 3D printed and then molded to look like wicker, and the pieces were stitched together for a spandex suit. Pieces for the eyebrows, wig, and additional parts were separate.
The performances are whimsical and honest as the very nature of this film. Colman has already made a name for herself in the comedy world, and she opened my eyes with her delightful performance in “The Favourite.” In this movie, she plays her character with the right emotions and attitude, that speaks for a woman like the Fisherwoman. Skarsgard not only looks good with the props, but he also acts very good as he gingerly speaks and learns about life in an innocent child’s way. Dibicki is also whip smart with her character’s personality, which can be unlikable when you read between the lines. And Dinklage offers some comical insights on his views of life, and he plays whatever the screenplay throws at him very cool.
The filmmakers knew how to handle the alien invasion genre in “Save Yourselves,” and they sure know how to handle a genre like this in “Wicker.” There are no splinters in this basket.