When I hear the word fairy tale at the movie theater, I think of Disney's mundane live-action remakes they keep churning out, like “The Little Mermaid” from 2023 and “Snow White” from 2025.
But once in a while, live-action fairy tale films can be new and unique. They can also be for adults just as much as for children, and the latest example of this is the film “Wicker.”
Olivia Coleman plays a solitary, messy fisherwoman in the countryside of medieval England. Excluded and teased by the local villagers, the fisherwoman hopes to stop her mistreatment by visiting the basket maker with an unexpected request, she pays the basket maker to build her a life-size husband through layers and layers of hand-woven wicker.
The husband comes to life. He and the fisherwoman get married, and their magical union stirs up trouble in their village through jealousy and gossip.
“Wicker” is adapted from the short story "The Wicker Husband," published in 2016 by British author Ursula Wills. This author is inspired by folklore, folk tales, and the natural landscapes of England.
All those elements combine to make a charming comic fantasy. This high concept is kind of like the old figures in Frankenstein or folk tales of the Golem, combined with the passion of films like “Lady Hawk” from 1985 or “Stardust” from 2007.
This fantasy is not dangerous or dark, but humble, mature, and optimistic. “Wicker” is co-written and co-directed by Alex Houston Fisher and Eleanor Wilson, a married couple who previously worked together on the 2020 “Alien Invasion” comedy “Save Yourselves,” keeping “Wicker” more light-hearted and sweet also helps it feel more contemporary, especially with Olivia Coleman's emotionally perceptive performance.
Bucking the traditions of marriage and gender roles, her portrayal is not the visually flawless princess who is nice to everyone and yearns for her white knight.
More interestingly, she's a self-sufficient woman who inadvertently creates the relationship she wants. Her wicker husband exists initially just to satisfy her, but then something more meaningful develops.
This film is an example of the growing popularity of monster romance, a subgenre of fantasy films and novels about romantic and sexual relationships between human and non-human characters.
This subgenre is huge in the literary world, but nowhere near as common in the films we see. The only notable filmic examples of such romance I can think of are “Edward Scissorhands” from 1990 and “The Shape of Water” from 2017.
So, “Wicker” is in very limited company, but at least it's good company. Is “Wicker” an incredible triumph bound for numerous awards in the next few months? No, but its capacity to make me smile and wonder is proof that it's a good film, not afraid of adult content, realistic characters, and relatable ideas.
Even though it's set centuries ago, this film feels like a contemporary fairy tale about rising above ostracism and finding your people. Fairy tales have always functioned to stabilize or challenge the collective norms of a group.
So, if you're ready to be challenged, then this film will touch you just like it touched me. For Flicks at 48, I'm Casey T. Allen.
