Wicker (2026)

Plot of Wicker: In a world where tradespeople do not have names, only the titles of their roles in the village, the young men marry the young women by putting a collar round their necks, and subsequently virtually ignore them unless their meals are served promptly. Ignored and bullied the fisherwoman is seen to be the next person to be a bride at a wedding and, distraught, goes to the weaver and asks him to make her a husband. Sure enough, a month later she marries a woven man, who treats her well, does the garden and repairs the house, showing up the negligent husbands in the village. The wives are jealous and the other husbands are angry to be shown up for the worthless men that they are, so rumours are started that the wicker man is not being faithful. The fisherwoman believes them when one of the wives appears with a wicker baby. In anger she throws her lantern at the wicker man and he catches fire. Oh dear!

Content: No nudity, but the wicker man proves to be an enthusiastic lover, to the point that more than once the fisherwoman’s bed collapses under the stress of the action.  We see a wedding and also a moment when wicker egg covers made by the weaver emit smoke, one of them identifying the fisherwoman as the next bride. There is dancing, jokingly elaborate and the different accents of the townspeople are noticeable. The weaver speaks posh. Once married to the wicker man the fisherwoman becomes prettier and tidier. The pot boy in an attempt to emulate the wicker man, tries to mend his roof, but falls in, which results in him dying despite the ministrations of the doctor. It is the pot boy’s wife who orders and receives a wicker baby. The weaver announces his retirement saying that whoever makes him the most generous offering will receive a wicker bride.  Things are not quite as they seem.

A View: This film is said by the critics to be a charming fable, and sure enough it is. There were quite a few of us in the screen where my wife and I saw it in Madrid but I suspect that it is yet to turn a profit. I was slightly thrown by the different regional English accents of the cast, but it seems to have been intentional. Olivia Colman speaking sort of west country, Elizabeth Debicki, who is Australian, speaking Yorkshire and Peter Dinklage, who is American, using received pronunciation. So, in summary, good fun and worth the ticket price. Fun Fact: The wicker man’s costume was made by a prosthetic limb manufacturer in New Zealand, using 3D printed fibre and taking 18 months to construct