Wicker stars talk steamy memes as film hits theatres

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Wicker, the new movie about a woman who marries a man made via the titular basket-weaving technique, has been inspiring memes and jokes since the debut of its first steamy trailer in July.

Now sitting at 6.4 million views, the clip prompted viewers to conjure such bon mots as “50 shades of hay.” Seizing the online momentum, the Australian IKEA Instagram account posted a photo of a rattan bench, telling followers it was “made from husband material.”

Olivia Colman, who stars as The Fisherwoman opposite Alexander Skarsgård as The Wicker Husband, remains flummoxed at the reaction.

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“I’ve never been in anything with such an organically explosive reaction from everybody,” the English actress says while sitting alongside her co-star. “I’ve never had so many messages from friends going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t wait to see Wicker.’

“It’s really exciting. Whatever has captured people’s imaginations, great. It’s funny that it’s all the sex scenes.”

Wicker is based on a short story by Ursula Willis and brought to the screen by writers and directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, themselves a husband-and-wife duo.

The fable follows a fisherwoman (Colman) in a fictional medieval-type village who’s tired of her neighbours looking down on her because of her single status. So she commissions a master basket maker (Peter Dinklage) to create a mystical wicker man (Skarsgård) to be her beloved.

Sparks fly — but not literally, that would be dangerous — and the couple’s passionate romance upends the social order of the village. The movie started its run in select theatres on Oct. 23 and goes wide on Oct. 30.

With a blend of striking visuals, quirky folk traditions and unexplained events, Wicker is designed to test the boundaries of logic. But that’s a big part of why Colman and Skarsgård were attracted to the project in the first place.

“I love that there wasn’t an explanation of how the basket maker made The Wicker Husband and there was no magical spell or anything like that,” says Skarsgård, whose previous projects include the television shows True Blood, Big Little Lies and Succession.

“I just thought it was so fun that Fisherwoman just shows up, gives him a coin, and walks away. And he’s like, ‘Yep, sure.’ … It’s like, we don’t need to explain everything. It’s a fable. Enjoy it.”

For Colman, the format allows for an offbeat fantasy world where insights about marriage and social expectations can take root underneath. It’s like Aesop but with a muscular basket that makes women swoon.

“From that point of view, you can talk about social commentary in a funnier way, in a more gentle way, so people can sit there and enjoy it and maybe go ‘Huh’ without being hit over the head,” says Colman, who’s acclaimed for films such as The Favourite and shows including Broadchurch and The Crown.

To help Skarsgård transform into The Wicker Husband, the film’s production team enlisted New Zealand special effects studio Wētā Workshop, which counts The Lord of the Rings and Avatar among its credits.

The Wētā specialists worked for 18 months to research and develop materials, consult weavers and textile artists, and construct a suit that fully encased Skarsgård’s six-foot-four-inch frame. The team put the actor’s comfort at the forefront, while keeping in mind that The Wicker Husband needed to look wicked-hot.

The final product comprises a mixture of 3D printing and natural materials, with the face section using 10 prosthetic pieces that were glued to Skarsgård’s skin.

“It was tricky to move in, so that was helpful because we wanted a stiffness or rigidity to the character — at least in the beginning,” the Swedish actor says.

“We wanted a progression toward the end of the film. He’s still made out of wicker, so you’re not going to get any ninja moves, but at least there’s a bit more fluidity to the movements.”

So far in its theatrical run, Wicker seems to have woven a potent spell. On the Rotten Tomatoes website, reviewers have given it a 95 per cent approval rating while audiences weighed in with 92 per cent. One wonders, could a sequel be in its future?

“Now that I am thinking about it, it would be fun,” says Colman.

Skarsgård, presumably remembering the many hours he’s already logged in the costume department, cuts in: “But you’ll wear the suit, the wicker suit,” he says.

Taking a beat to consider the suggestion, Colman offers a compromise: “Or just half. Maybe we’re becoming each other, and maybe I only have one wicker arm.”

mhank@postmedia.com

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