5 Movies To Watch If You Like Wicker

Romantic connections come in all shapes and sizes, including humanoid wicker figures. That's the crux of 2026's "Wicker," a feature from writers/directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and adapted from the short story, "The Wicker Husband," by Ursula Wills-Jones. "Wicker" follows the lonely Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) as she gets married to Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård), a figure crafted just for her by Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage). The two turn out to be a perfect match, especially since Wicker Husband is a soulful, emotionally mature individual who thinks of others before himself. The local village, though, isn't too keen on this relationship given their fixation on traditional marriages and gender roles.

This leads to a story of jokes and maximalist intimacy, but also emotionally sincere explorations of falling in love and caring for others. "Wicker" is a deeply entertaining feature, and folks who leave it are bound to be hankering for other similar titles to watch. Certainly some of the 98 best romantic movies of all time could help scratch that itch, ditto some of the 56 best fantasy movies of all time. However, there are five particular motion pictures that stand out as especially perfect cinematic companion pieces to "Wicker." Some of them are in tune with "Wicker" because they share key cast members. Others also feature fantastical love stories between human women and unusual men.

Still others exemplify the classical fairy tale aesthetic or bittersweet atmosphere that makes "Wicker" so interesting. Whatever makes these features remarkable, these five movies are optimal viewing experiences for those who've been bewitched by the charms of "Wicker."

"Wicker" may be a popular recent entry into the canon of movies in which ladies fall in love with towering fantasy creatures, but it's certainly not the first. This title comes from a long line of stories inhabiting all storytelling mediums that center on such romantic fantasies. One such narrative that proved especially popular in the 2010s was "The Shape of Water," Guillermo del Toro's 2017 tale of interspecies affection that actually scored Oscar gold. Award season voters were clearly entranced by this aching story of societal outcasts and unexpected love.

In this precursor to "Wicker," mute janitor Elisa (Sally Hawkins) falls in love with a humanoid amphibious creature — credited as Amphibian Man (Doug Jones) — held in a gigantic container at her work. Everyone around her, like the devious Strickland (Michael Shannon), considers this organism a beast. Elisa, though, bonds (first emotionally and then physically) with this Gill-Man pastiche. Nearly every Guillermo del Toro movie has been about monsters and societal misfits. "The Shape of Water" continues that fixation in a luscious fashion. Every aspect of the movie is as sweeping as the sensation of falling in love, whether it's the colorful images or Alexandre Desplat's dreamy score.

Thanks to these qualities and a profoundly exceptional cast, "The Shape of Water" turns what could've been a gimmicky premise into something so tender. Plus, it could allow some viewers to live out their fantasy romance scenarios.

"Wicker" isn't the only offbeat romance movie infused with lots of comedy that Alexander Skarsgård anchored in 2025. This actor also served as one of the leads of "Pillion," an impressive directorial debut from Harry Lighton full of leather, kink, and yearning. "Pillion" follows the meek and introverted Colin (Harry Melling), who finds himself infatuated with Ray (Skarsgård). This motorcycle-riding bad boy avoids deep emotional attachments at all costs. However, eventually, he and Colin do begin seeing each other regularly. Specifically, they start engaging in a kinky dynamic in which Ray controls every aspect of Colin's life, much to the latter man's delight.

"Pillion" is a strong movie under any circumstances. However, it and "Wicker" being released so closely together reflects the enormous talents of Alexander Skarsgård. Whereas in "Wicker" he's a kindhearted, immensely literal, and deeply loving soul, in "Pillion" he plays someone who speaks in few words and keeps himself aloof. In either persona, Skarsgård is tremendously believable and riveting. There's one climactic dialogue-free "Pillion" moment relying just on this actor's facial expressions and body language that gets so much mileage out of Skarsgård's chops. Harry Melling is equally impressive as the other half of the central "Pillion" duo.

These two superb performances, combined with fantastically executed bursts of visual comedy, cement "Pillion" as a romantic movie worth getting tied up in, even if you don't pair it up with "Wicker" for a rollicking Skarsgård-heavy double feature.

One of the more pleasant surprises of "Wicker" is that, though it's a very funny movie with modern social commentary on its mind, it also deeply evokes classical fairy tales. In other words, "Wicker" is more interested in being a new fable rather than a snarky takedown of this storytelling template. Functioning as just a classic fairy tale that happens to involve flesh-and-blood people, it harks back to Jacques Demy's 1970 masterpiece "Donkey Skin," which is taken from Charles Perrault's 17th-century fairy tale "Donkeyskin." In this surreal saga, a princess (Catherine Deneuve) procures the help of a fairy godmother to get her out of a marriage to her own father. This magical entity suggests a plot that eventually gives her a donkey skin outfit she slips on to take on a new identity.

Though the royal figure eventually finds herself working amongst the swine in a run-down village, "Donkey Skin" never stops bombarding viewers with vibrant colors and luscious frames. Demy and his crew embrace any opportunity to inject succulent hues into the proceedings. The king's henchmen, for instance, are covered in blue body paint, while every environment is littered with eye-popping shades. All the costumes are maximalist achievements too, bursting with captivating color and textures.

"Donkey Skin" is one of those movies that is practically flawless with its perfect visual scheme and engrossing take on a vintage fairy tale. Plus, no snarky fairy tale spoof has ever delivered a moment as funny as someone approaching the princess, draped in her donkey outfit, and inquiring, "Are you Donkey Skin?"

One of the most moving parts of "Wicker" is a realization in the third act that the central romance can't last forever. Eventually, the Wicker Husband will crumble. However, that just makes savoring every moment these two "Wicker" leads have all the more important and special. The finite beauty of romantic connections informs the profoundly moving 2004 Michel Gondry directorial effort "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." In this high-concept project, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) have recently broken up, and the latter has undergone a procedure that erased their relationship from her memory. Joel opting to undergo that same operation, though, only makes him more appreciative of the love they shared rather than eager to eschew the past.

Charlie Kaufman has written many heady and conceptually labyrinthine screenplays since "Eternal Sunshine" (including the script for the 2008 masterpiece "Synecdoche, New York"). His writing for "Eternal Sunshine," though, remains his magnum opus. Despite such a lofty starting concept and a premise constantly jumping across various points in time, Joel and Clementine's intimate bond and raw emotions related to a relationship dissolving never get lost in the shuffle. That balance creates a wondrous cinematic experience tapping into universal experiences while presenting them in a totally unpredictable fashion.

Jim Carrey, meanwhile, delivers career-best work in his soulful turn while Kate Winslet is similarly transfixing. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," like the best relationships, can't last forever, but that just makes it all the more wonderful to experience in the moment.

The pantheon of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos movies began with 2018's "The Favourite," which houses one of Emma Stone's 12 best movie performances. "The Favourite" is one of those motion pictures whose ripple effects were tremendous, with the title's long-term impact also including solidifying Lanthimos as a beloved arthouse cinema name for general audiences. It also propelled Olivia Colman to a new level of worldwide notoriety thanks to her Oscar-winning work as Queen Anne. Who knows if Colman would've been asked to anchor "Wicker" if it weren't for "The Favourite" becoming such a sensation. The entire last decade of cinema would've looked a lot different without Colman getting her "Favourite" career boost.

Set in the 18th century, "The Favourite" follows Queen Anne (Colman) and Sarah Churchill's (Rachel Weisz) dynamic as it is upended by the arrival of Abigail (Emma Stone), who will do anything to usurp Sarah as the apple of Anne's eye. What follows is, like "Wicker," a period piece full of vintage people behaving badly and often succumbing to their most primal sexual urges. Colman is a tour de force, realizing the deeply privileged and messy Queen Anne, particularly in the exceptional chemistry she has with both Weisz and Stone.

"The Favourite," like so many English-language Lanthimos movies, is also a compellingly precise film visually. Whether it's the blocking or fantastic costume design, "The Favourite" looks phenomenal. A tremendous title on its own merits, "The Favourite" also deserves extra points for catapulting Colman to new heights of fame.