'Wicker' weaves a touching tale

Described in simple terms, Wicker sounds preposterous. A fisherwoman in a Medieval village falls in love with a man made of wicker created by the village basket weaver. Though made of wicker, this lover has a human-like physical presence. He’s even able to make bed-breaking love — vigorous enough to raise village eyebrows. Yes, it’s silly, but Olivia Colman, as the Fisher Woman who’s a bit of a village pariah, and Alexander Skarsgard, in an impressive wicker costume, make the situation real enough to carry a movie that easily could have gone badly wrong. Based on Ursula Wills-Jones's short story, Wicker also features fine performances from Peter Dinklage as the Basket Weaver, another village outsider, and from Elizabeth Debicki as The Tailor’s Wife, a conniving woman who envies the Fisher Woman’s independence — particularly in a patriarchal village. How patriarchal? Villagers place a collar around the bride’s neck, an obvious symbol of male possession. Another village ritual puts the…