When one thinks of a Sundance film, it is usually a culture-shifting documentary or a socially charged drama. An adult fairy tale most likely doesn’t come to mind. Yet one of the best films at this year’s Sundance is exactly that.
Wicker marks the return of filmmakers Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, who previously premiered their 2020 film Save Yourselves! at the festival. This time, they arrive with a strikingly original vision, an incredible ensemble cast, and a film that is visually stunning and fully realized. The film is adapted from a short story by Ursula Willis-Jones, and that literary foundation provides the perfect launching pad.
The film centers on Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman living in a rigid, male dominated village where everyone serves a clearly defined role. For most women, that role is wife. For the men, identity is dictated entirely by profession.
One day the fisherwoman gets an idea and she decides to seek out the local basket weaver, played by Peter Dinklage. What she asks of him is far more ambitious than a vessel for fish. She asks him to make her a husband.
One month later, she meets her creation inside a chapel: a walking, breathing man made entirely of wicker, eager and willing to be wed.
What follows is a fantastical fable about love, marriage, desire, and jealousy. The fisherwoman and her wicker husband fall deeply in love, and their joy is impossible for the village to ignore. Their affection is public, unashamed, and intoxicating. It is also deeply unsettling to those who have long accepted loveless arrangements as the cost of tradition.
Alexander Skarsgård is remarkable as the wicker husband, delivering one of the most surprising performances of his career. Despite being physically constrained and literally covered head to toe in wicker, he brings warmth, vulnerability, and much humor to the role.
Colman, as expected, is phenomenal. She balances grounded dramatic weight with sharp comedic timing, anchoring the film emotionally while allowing its more surreal elements to flourish.
As the couple’s love grows, so does the resentment of the townspeople. Their happiness becomes a mirror reflecting everything the village lacks. This jealousy eventually curdles into cruelty, led by Elizabeth Debicki’s tailor’s wife, who delivers a chilling and commanding performance as the voice of moral outrage turned personal vendetta.
Wilson and Huston Fischer craft a world that feels fully realized, from its stunning visuals to its meticulous production design. The film is elevated by a wonderful script, gorgeous costumes, and an ensemble cast that fully commits to the heightened reality of the story.
Like any great fable, Wicker explores universal themes with clarity and confidence, allowing its message to emerge naturally rather than through force.
Wicker is unlike anything I have seen at Sundance in quite some time. It is bold, strange, romantic, and deeply human. It is the kind of film that reminds you why festivals like Sundance still matter.
4/5 stars
