Since it debuted at Sundance at the beginning of the year, buzz has been building around the odd romantic comedy, Wicker. It’s the rare case of a film that is steadily spoken about, but quietly, until the rash of fall season festivals turns that quiet buzz into an uproar. And that is exactly what’s happening to this film in which Olivia Colman plays an unkempt fisherwoman who has the perfect man made for her out of wicker, and he looks a lot like Alexander Skarsgård.
Skarsgard’s Wicker Husband causes all sorts of turmoil, jealousy, and excitement throughout the village, as it should.
The geniuses at Wētā Workshop crafted the Wicker Husband using mostly practical effects, which made the love scenes between Skarsgard and Colman pretty interesting to shoot.
“Most male actors dream of playing Hamlet at some point in their career. I never did,” Skarsgård told EW. “My dream was always to have nipples made out of wicker. Thanks to our wonderful directors, Eleanor and Alex, and the brilliant artists at Wētā in New Zealand, my dream has finally come true.”
Here’s the synopsis: On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman; smelly, single, and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbors, she commissions a wicker husband. In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy, and chaos.
Also in the cast are Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, and Richard E. Grant. Dev Patel was originally cast in Skarsgard’s role before having to exit. The film is adapted from Ursula Wills-Jones’s short story, written and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. You may recall their feature debut, the hilarious sci-fi comedy Save Yourselves!
Black Bear will release Wicker in select theaters on October 23rd, before going wide a week later.
