WICKER DIRECTORS ELEANOR WILSON & ALEX HUSTON FISCHER ON LOVE, WEIRDNESS, AND WONDER!

Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, and a husband made of wicker? Yes, please!

Some love stories are written in the stars. Others are woven out of wicker. And trust me, WICKER is one of the most wonderfully strange romances I’ve seen in a long time!

I absolutely loved this movie!

Equal parts weirdness and wonder, with a generous helping of sex, lust, humor, and heart, WICKER is a fantastical fairy tale that embraces its outrageous premise while delivering something surprisingly emotional. I’m not ashamed to admit it even made me shed a tear or two!

And at the center of this deliciously bizarre romance are the wonderful Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård, who somehow make an impossible love story feel completely believable.

I sat down with the film’s husband-and-wife directing duo, Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, to talk about the magic behind WICKER, from its literary origins to its extraordinary visual effects and the deeply human story beating beneath all that weirdness.

FROM SHORT STORY TO BIG-SCREEN FAIRY TALE

WICKER began as Ursula Wills-Jones’ short story The Wicker Husband, an unusual tale that explores love, desire, and society’s expectations.

For Eleanor Wilson, the journey from page to screen began with the story’s imaginative premise and emotional possibilities.

I asked Eleanor what initially captured her imagination about the source material and what she and Alex wanted to bring to it as filmmakers.

Because beneath all the fantasy, WICKER asks a surprisingly universal question: Who gets to decide what love should look like?

OLIVIA COLMAN AND ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE FEEL REAL

One of the film’s greatest strengths is its performances.

Olivia Colman brings her extraordinary ability to balance vulnerability, humor, and emotional honesty, while Alexander Skarsgård helps give this most unconventional romance its fantastical dimension.

Together, they make the bizarre feel intimate and the impossible feel strangely natural.

I wanted to know what surprised the directors most about watching these talented actors bring their characters to life.

And perhaps that’s WICKER‘s greatest achievement: no matter how strange the premise becomes, the emotions remain recognizably human.

THE MAGIC OF WĒTĀ WORKSHOP

Of course, we have to talk about the Wicker Husband himself!

The film’s fantastical creation is a remarkable achievement, and the legendary Wētā Workshop helped bring this extraordinary character to life.

Known for its imaginative craftsmanship and practical effects artistry, Wētā is a particularly exciting creative partner for a story that depends on making the unbelievable feel tangible.

I asked Alex about the collaboration, the technical challenges, and what it took to transform a seemingly impossible character into someone audiences could actually fall in love with.

It’s precisely this marriage of imaginative filmmaking and emotional storytelling that makes WICKER so special.

A LOVE STORY ABOUT ACCEPTANCE

Beyond the fantasy, the outrageous humor, and the unusual romance, WICKER has something meaningful to say about love and acceptance.

It’s a story that challenges conventional ideas of beauty, desire, and relationships. It invites us to embrace what makes people different rather than fear or reject those differences.

And I love that the filmmakers never sacrifice the film’s wonderfully peculiar personality to deliver that message.

Instead, the weirdness becomes part of its beauty.

I asked Eleanor and Alex how they found that delicate balance between the bizarre, the beautiful, and the deeply human.

WHAT DID THE MARRIED DIRECTORS LEARN ABOUT LOVE?

And because Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer are married in real life, I couldn’t resist one final question.

Did making a movie about such an unconventional marriage teach them anything about their own?

Hey, I had to ask! LOL!

Their real-life creative partnership adds another fascinating dimension to a movie that’s ultimately about finding love in the most unexpected places.