Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Wicker
Fisherwoman (Olivia Coleman) walks through town with an unsteady gait, carrying her wares for sale on her back. She’s taunted by her neighbors, both for her smell and her spinsterhood. She’s learned to keep her dreams to herself, living alone in her rustic but tidy cabin since the death of her parents. She grew up with Tailor’s Wife (Elizabeth Debicki) who was once Doctor’s Daughter. Bottlewasher and Innkeeper mock Fisherwoman behind her back as well as directly to her face.
However, Basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) does not mock her, always treating her with respect. Possibly because he is as much an eccentric outsider as she, he feels a kinship. Using materials which “mother nature provides”, Basketmaker creates the most startling, magical objects for the townspeople. One day, Fisherwoman has had it with being the butt of the town’s jokes and pays Basketmaker to ‘make her a husband’.
And so he does. He sees it as a “righteous endeavor.” Behold Alexander Skarsgard, the 6’4” Wickerman.
This is a sexy, satirical and very adult fable, filled with lust, love and lascivious leers from the women of the town, who can’t seem to fathom the how or the why, but certainly want to climb Wicker for all he’s worth. Down in the valley every evening, they can hear the screams of delight from Fisherwoman, who now walks through town with her beau and a smile on her face. Plus, Wicker has extraordinary carpentry skills. In other words, he’s the perfect boyfriend.
Jealousy soon rears its evil head, both among the wholly unsatisfied women of the village, as well as within Fisherwoman herself. The plotting to separate the besotted pair begins at one of the strangest, most ludicrous village square dances ever put on film. These are women who “touch their biggest tit to ward off evil”, who gleefully put a stiff metal collar around their necks when they take their marriage vows, and who accept their lesser roles in society. So we know Fisherwoman, to whom Wicker boldly and publicly expresses his complete devotion, stating “you are the reason I live and breathe”, as the women swoon, is going to go through some things.
If Coleman doesn’t win the Oscar this year, she’s been robbed. She’s joyful and coarse, yet honestly beautiful in the role. Skarsgard is usually a man of few words in his roles, and as Wicker, that’s perfection. His intricate full-body wicker-textured suit, complete with eyebrows and hair, creaks and groans in all the right places. He tells us that ‘stepping into the suit helped him find the character.’ Though his face is completely wickered over, the design is distinctly reminiscent of the facial markings of a magnificent Maori tribesman.
Wicker, based on a short story, is a magical, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ tale of love, and one that deserves multiple viewings.
