Colman, Skarsgård shine in twisted, but well-woven tale

You may find yourself involuntarily smiling several times throughout the course of “Wicker,” a delightfully dark, often humorous and, well, downright horny fable about a man who’s seemingly such a good husband that it causes problems for an entire community.

The latest offering from filmmaking duo Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson – whose 2020 debut, the science fiction comedy “Save Yourselves!,” was well-received by critics – is based on Ursula Wills’ 2008 satirical short story “The Wicker Husband.”

Set in a medieval village, “Wicker” stars the tantalisingly talented tandem of Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård as a lonely woman and a man crafted for her from weavable (and highly flammable) materials.

Before we meet the Fisherwoman and the Wicker Husband, however, we are greeted with the musings of the Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage), who tells a tale of a fish who saw its reflection in ice at the water’s top and first tried to attack what it believed to be another fish.

“Then,” says the Basket Weaver in this little serving of narration, “it tried to (expletive) itself and died.” If not a road map for the story to unfold, it’s certainly a tone-setter.

Even though she declares that love seems to be more a burden than a prize after the latest wedding in the village, the Fisherwoman – whose line of work gives her a certain persistent odor – travels to the remote home of the Basket Weaver to ask him to make her a husband. He accepts this unusual request, and the following morning, the newly born Wicker Husband makes his way, awkwardly, to the church, where his Bride is to be waiting.

As time passes – and the Wicker Husband becomes far more important to the Fisherwoman than she’d planned – their marriage stirs jealousies among the village folk. The gossipy Tailor’s Wife (Elizabeth Debicki, “Tenet”), who’s increasingly frustrated by the Tailor (Nabhaan Rizwan, “Station Eleven”), doesn’t like it.

It’s also causing serious friction between the Baker (Ben Ashenden) and the Baker’s Wife (Ella Bruccoleri). In fact, while drinking by the Innkeeper (Kiell Smith-Bynoe), the Baker offers the Wicker Husband an unusual proposition. And regardless of whether that outside-the-box offer is accepted by the village newcomer, it will have great ramifications for the once-happy couple at the centre of this narrative.

Fischer and Wilson’s screenplay is consistently clever and cheeky, and their direction lively and engaging. “Wicker” is likely to have you seeking out their earlier work and eagerly awaiting their next.

The efforts are aided by all the top-tier onscreen talent here, of course. Colman (“The Favourite,” “The Lost Daughter”) is about as consistent a performer as you’ll find, and she brings a mix of strength and vulnerability to the Fisherwoman.

Skarsgård (“The Northman”), meanwhile, manages to be sturdy and steady but somehow not robotic as the Wicker Husband, who proves to be increasingly thoughtful as he soaks up the new world around himself. (And, yes, the combination of the prosthetic and costuming work that gives the Wicker Husband his unique appearance is topnotch.)

You can’t help but wish Fischer and Wilson had found a bit more screen time for Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” “The Station Agent”), who isn’t seen much until the film’s climactic stretch. Then, unsurprisingly, he makes his impact on “Wicker.”

More disappointing? We get even less of the always-entertaining Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) as the father of the Tailor’s Wife, and more crucial to the goings-on in “Wicker,” the village’s longtime incompetent doctor.

Still, the strong points of the film far outweigh these minor imperfections. With echoes of stories from the Pygmalion myth to “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” “Wicker” uses the creation of an artificial being to explore human nature – and it does so with great flair. And, yes, a little fire.

Tribune News Service