A moralistic fairytale, a bawdy yarn of love and lust, a feminist fable, Wicker is all these things as well as a delightful comedy-drama that entertains from start to finish. This is due to a creative script and enchanting performances by Olivia Colman, who plays the fisherwoman, and Peter Skarsgard who plays the titular wicker husband.

Walking into the theater on a whim, I wasn’t expecting much. But never underestimate the power of a movie starring Olivia Colman. I was enthralled from start to finish by this tale of a woman who runs her own business and lives alone on the outskirt of a small medieval village. Fisherwoman is independent, has a mind of her own and (gasp!) her own money, which makes her reviled by the people in the village who bully her mercilessly for being a smelly old maid.

She’s a thick-skinned gal who laughs it off and publicly makes fun of the institution of marriage, but deep down, she’s lonely and decides to hire the local basket weaver to make her a husband.

Enter the delightful Peter Skarsgard, who plays the sweet, attentive man made of willowy wood to perfection. His kindness to the fisherwoman does not go unnoticed by the village women, who become mad with jealousy. After all, they have to put up with boorish, sexist husbands who place marriage collars around their necks. Soon even the husbands become insecure and jealous of the gentle non-human man. This of course triggers the vengeful, sinful nature of flesh and blood and all hell breaks loose against the endearing wicker man.

Wicker is a laugh out loud comedy, as well as an engrossing drama that serves as a reminder of the nastiest flaws of mankind. But it’s also a keen lesson that everyone is worthy of love and respect, and that we all have the capacity to forgive, which is our most surprising and redeeming quality of all.