A fisherwoman falls in love with a man made of wicker.

It sounds like the plot of a bizarre love story but it’s the premise of the new romantic comedy-drama Wicker, starring British actress Olivia Colman and Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard.

Adapted from a short story by fantasy writer Ursula Wills-Jones, the film is set in a traditional coastal village inspired by the 19th century and follows an unnamed fisherwoman, played by Colman, who is tired of being alone.

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Desperate for companionship, she turns to the local Basket Weaver, played by Game Of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, and makes an unusual request: to weave her a husband out of wicker.

Naturally, this raises a few questions. What about the splinters? How does it work in the bedroom? And, perhaps most importantly, where do we place an order?

Alexander Skarsgard and Olivia Colman attend the screening of Wicked in London. Credit: Getty

The stars portray the Fisherwoman and the Wicker Husband. Credit: YouTube

Enter the Wicker Husband, played by Skarsgard, who is brought to life and turns out to be everything the Fisherwoman could have hoped for: affectionate, supportive, attentive and, by all accounts, particularly attentive in the bedroom.

But their unconventional romance doesn’t go down well with everyone.

Their relationship sparks jealousy and outrage among the villagers, while the film’s unusual premise has also prompted plenty of discussion beyond the fictional seaside town.

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From steamy bedroom scenes to debates about what women really want from their partners, Wicker has captured the internet’s imagination. So, what’s all the fuss about?

Suggestive marketing sparks online hype

When the trailer first dropped, the internet went wild over the idea of an isolated fisherwoman having a husband custom-built from wicker.

Much of the online attention is centered on Skarsgard’s full-body wicker suit, which quickly inspired viral memes, and a particularly memorable bedroom scene in which an intimate encounter between the couple ends with their bed breaking.

In an interview with People magazine, the film’s stars revealed the steamy scene was actually shot right at the beginning of production.

“It was like a rollercoaster,” Skarsgard said. “We’re anticipating it like, ‘It’s coming.’ So, that was fun.”

Colman added when the bed finally broke, the cast erupted into what she described as “proper full on” laughter.

The saucy scenes have sparked viral memes, but the filmmakers say the unusual coupling is meant to spark a wider conversation about women’s role in society. Credit: YouTube

The scene has also fuelled an unusual online debate: what would physical intimacy with a man made of wicker actually involve?

The question even prompted a Vulture magazine article titled “What would happen if you had sex with a wicker d***?”

The journalist consulted Dr Lauren Streicher, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Northwestern University in the US, who revealed discussing the hypothetical scenario with colleagues had prompted both laughter and concern.

One colleague’s immediate observation: “Well, there is the splinter issue.”

But beneath the cheeky marketing and risque humour, the film is using the surreal romance to challenge traditional gender roles and the traditional expectations placed on women within marriage.

Real men ‘threatened’ by a basket man

Kind, thoughtful and seemingly eager to please his wife, the Wicker Husband is everything many women say they want from a partner and they’re not shy about letting their human husbands know it.

“The way he loves her is instructive, especially for the men. He’s not only about sex but cares for her and helps her in myriad ways,” one person commented on Instagram.

Others have labelled the film “anti-male” and said the story is suggesting women should simply “trade men for baskets”.

But plenty of viewers disagree, saying the film is meant to cast a light on what women really want.

“Insecure men thinking women only want muscles, meanwhile my entire feed is feral for a guy made out of a basket,” one Threads user noted.

“Making my husband put a basket on his head to spice things up a bit,” another remarked jokingly.

The film itself plays directly into this theme.

As the Fisherwoman and her Wicker Husband settle into married life, other wives in the village begin questioning why their own husbands don’t show them the same affection or take on their share of the household chores.

Rather than learning from the basket man’s example, however, the village men become increasingly resentful of him.

Elizabeth Debicki with co-stars Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard. Credit: Getty

Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, who plays the tailor’s wife, believes the Wicker Husband’s appeal comes down to one particularly desirable quality: “He is a really good listener.”

“And by listening, he’s listening to her, but he’s picking up on cues,” Debicki told Entertainment Weekly.

“He’s doing things without being asked. He’s making suggestions. These are the things that women like.”

What Wicker is actually about

For all the jokes about bedroom splinters and basket-shaped husbands, the filmmakers insist there is a deeper message behind the unusual premise.

In an interview with the BBC, husband-and-wife filmmaking team Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson said they have loved the response to the film, particularly the audience’s fascination with the central couple.

“They’re having sex, the roof is leaking, and he just says, ‘I’m going to fix the roof’ — then she has a screaming orgasm,” Huston Fischer said, with a laugh.

“We made him very beautiful but people are noticing that the best thing about the Wicker Husband is that he did something without being asked, and he doesn’t require a pat on the back for it,” Wilson added.

Despite its quasi-medieval fairytale setting, Wicker taps into a very modern conversation about the imbalance that can exist in heterosexual relationships, particularly when it comes to household responsibilities and childcare.

Wicker stars Alexander Skarsgard and Olivia Colman. Credit: YouTube

Colman has described the film as gently exploring themes of equality, feminism and the traditional position of women, which she noted are often challenged in society.

“There’s so much you can unpack in that social commentary: institution of marriage and how silly it can be and what a prison that can be,” Skarsgard told Los Angeles Times.

“It deals with patriarchy and jealousy and social hierarchy that, regardless of gender, we’re all existing in.

“And how transgressive and how much of a threat it can be if someone disrupts that hierarchy, the way the Fisherwoman does in a way which sets everyone off.”