Wicker (2026)- BFI London Film Festival 2026

Review

105min

Genre:        Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Director:     Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson

Cast:          Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage…more

Writers:      Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson and Ursula Wills

-Synopsis-

Tired of being ridiculed and treated like an outsider in her small medieval village, an unmarried middle-aged fisherwoman seeks the local basket-maker to commission a very special type of partner—a strapping and sentient wicker husband—who soon proves to be the ideal spouse and quickly ignites resentment and jealousy which threatens their once quiet little village.

Having made their mark on idiosyncratic indie cinema with their quirky 2020 sci-fi alien invasion comedy feature debut ‘Save Yourselves!’, the US based Aussie-American writer/director duo of Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston return and take a trip back in time and across the pond to subvert and breathe new cinematic life into the European medieval folk tale, adapting the Ursula Wills short story ‘The Wicker Husband’ for the screen and creating a fun feminist fable that warms the heart, stokes the loins, and tickles the funny bone in equal measure.

Olivia Colman stars as the “fisherwoman”, a dishevelled middle-aged loner with a tragic past living on the outskirts of an unspecified patriarchal medieval English seaside farming village, where she’s mocked and judged by locals like the haughty “tailor’s wife” (Elizabeth Debicki), the brash “butcher” (Phil Daniels), and the gobby “baker’s wife” (Ella Bruccoleri) for her appearance and marital status. Pushing her to seek the services to the local master “basket weaver” (Peter Dinklage) who creates her the ultimate spouse—the “wicker husband” (Alexander Skarsgård)—a wonderfully woven dutiful husband and formidable lover who changes her life completely, sparking a wave of envy through the women of the village and resentment from the men which upsets the social balance and threatens to ostracize her and explode in all their faces.

It’s fairly evident what the likely literary and cinematic inspirations might have been for Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston and indeed the author of the source material, everything from the classics like ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Frankenstein’ to quirkier more recent fare like 2007’s ‘Lars and the Real Girl’, but the writer/directors have a distinct modern female perspective in mind here, albeit in a more ancient traditionalist setting, and clearly something to say.

There’s no doubt which side of the ideological bread is buttered when it comes to the social messaging in ‘Wicker’, as Wilson and Huston weave together (pardon the pun) a droll study on gender roles and female emancipation in a patriarchal society ready to be toppled, whilst comically savaging masculinity and all the perceived flaws of man, ranging from satire and observational comedy to shaming and mockery. It’s then escalated with the presentation of the ideal man as a manufactured perennially selfless, sensitive and considerate, not to mention handy and helpful sex-machine at a woman’s beck and call and existing only for them, whom the other village women covet and the men envy–needless to say, a fairy tale. Yet it’s done largely in jest and with enough charm and humour that it just about stays on the right side of good taste, even attempting to somewhat subvert the expectations it sets by the end.

It’s no surprise then that the humour of the piece is one of its major selling points, ranging from raunchy comedy and knob gags—not to mention plenty of hilariously saucy and unique if not quite graphic sex scenes—to dry clever quips, satire, and droll social commentary, with the creatively crude and colourful language to match. But it’s all well balanced by occasional moments of true poignancy and heartache too, made possible largely by the delectable talents of its leading lady Olivia Colman.

‘Wicker’ isn’t lacking in the style stakes either as the production and costume design teams seamlessly and vividly re-create an unspecified medieval English village—full of quaint and colourful traditions but also judgement and suspicion—all put together in Budapest studios and Hungarian locations, a further indication of the increasing globalisation of English language cinema and how far it’s fled from Hollywood­­.

Meanwhile the makeup and visual effects teams do an extraordinary job creating completely convincing wicker people and in particular the main wicker husband in question, employing a mix of mostly practical effects and prosthetics, using a remarkable body suit which blends high-tech 3D printed resin with traditional wicker weaving topped off by some subtle CGI, and brought to life by the far from wooden performance of Alexander Skarsgård. Everything is warmly and colourfully captured by British cinematographer Lol Crawley (The Devil All the Time, The Brutalist), while the tone of the film is set by a score from Scottish experimental composer Anna Meredith (Eighth Grade, The End We Start From) which fits like a glove, a blend of classical and folk ranging from whimsical and quirky to melancholy and wistful, all effectively combined with a high quality sound design epitomised by the constant creaking of bending and stretching wicker.

Yet ‘Wicker’ is as much an ensemble character dramedy as it is a period fantasy fairy-tale, and for all its technical and stylistic prowess it does rely on the efforts of its cast for any storytelling success, and luckily the performances don’t let down the narrative. As the personification of new life and creature/human hybrid of the piece Alexander Skarsgård’s performance is subtle and appropriately solid as he succeeds in being wicker but never wooden, while an eclectic supporting cast is well led by Elizabeth Debicki as the pseudo antagonist of the story who delivers arguably the most nuanced performance of the film, and Peter Dinklage as the basket maker and film’s divine creator is colourful and pensive as perhaps the moral core of the film—without ever giving the audience any look at or context for his Frankensteinian and Promethean abilities.

The true star and heart of the piece however is Olivia Colman of course, as the wonderfully warm and expressive British star delivers yet another performance packed with charm, blunt humour and heart, but also plenty of pathos and sorrow with in an earthy unadorned performance which keeps this particular fantasy grounded.

Ultimately ‘Wicker’ is not exactly the most enchanting or memorable period folk tale or character piece you’ll see, nor is it the most nuanced, perceptive or clever piece of social commentary either, but then it never really pretends to be. What is does deliver is a daring and inventive exploration of gender roles and societal expectations, wrapped in a highly enjoyable, occasionally cringy, and largely unexpected period dramedy that’s certainly worth the price of admission.

The Bottom Line…

A well-crafted, audacious, captivating and riotous feminist fable with heart and some genuine pathos too, with ‘Wicker’ Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston weave together a droll, bold and subversive modernist addition to the tradition of medieval European folk tales which entertains throughout, as they add an admirable sophomore effort to their burgeoning filmography.

‘Wicker’ is out on the 30th of October in UK and US cinemas.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

A darker and more surreal animated take on the classic 19th century fairy-tale of an Italian woodcarver who creates a puppet to deal with the painful loss of his son, who then embarks on an adventure of discovery and peril so that he can be magically turned into a real boy, rendered in stunning stop-motion animation and told against the backdrop of oppression under Mussolini’s fascist regime of the 1930s.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson and starring Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor and David Bradley among others.

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