Shadows on the Wall

Wicker

dir-scr Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
prd Ed Sinclair, Tom Carver, Olivia Colman, Justin Lothrop, Brent Stiefel
with Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgard, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Nabhaan Rizwan, Phil Daniels, Ben Ashenden, Ella Bruccoleri, Gustav Lindh, Marli Siu, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Richard E Grant
release US 23.Oct.26,
UK 30.Oct.26
26/UK 1h45

SUNDANCE FILM FEST

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With a delightfully bawdy sense of humour, this slightly unhinged movie unfolds as a cautionary fable set in a fairy-tale land populated by a village full of riotously funny characters with outsized personalities. Alongside the humour, married filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson layer in a surprisingly warm and sexy romance that makes everything hugely engaging. And where the story goes is surprising, keeping us on our toes.

Mercilessly teased for being smelly, a fisherwoman (Colman) gets on with her life and work, selling her fish in the market but remaining on the edge of the community. Then when a young couple (Lindh and Siu) marries, she asks the basketmaker (Dinklage) to make her a husband. A month later, a wicker man (Skarsgard) arrives, they are married and the fisherwoman's life blossoms into something beautiful. Soon the locals begin having their own thoughts about this odd but strangely kind man. The tailor's wife (Debicki) is particularly annoyed, and starts undermining the fisherwoman's happiness.

Startling narrative twists and turns as jealousy and envy consume the villagers. Women swoon at the sight of a man who can clearly satisfy a woman, unlike their husbands. And men begin to suspect that maybe they should do more for their wives. The film is snappily shot and edited, making the most of the salty humour. The mainly practical effects that create this wicker man are stunning. And Damon Albarn's music and songs are excellent.

None of this would work without Colman's big-hearted performance as an outcast who pretends not to care about the haters. The way she comes to life feels both honest and witty, which makes it unusually involving. And her chemistry with Skarsgard, even though he's encased in wicker, is sizzling. It then deepens into a proper relationship that resonates strongly. Side roles are also amusing and deceptively complex, and each actor finds ways to steal their scenes.

Because of the plot structure, it's clear that everything is going to come to some sort of frightening head, and indeed it does. But there are so many story and character wrinkles that unexpected ideas and themes keep emerging right to the very end. It's a story that reminds us that getting our wish is one thing, but living with it is another. And the way the script explores the effects of gossip and greed are sharply pointed. So while it's entertaining us, the film is also challenging us to look at ourselves.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 7.Nov.26

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

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