Courtesy Feline Films
Movies
Jacob (George MacKay, 1917) has species dysphoria in writer/director Nathalie Biancheri’s Wolf. He believes, in fact, that he’s a wolf trapped in a human body. Sent to an institution by his family in an effort to cure him, Jacob crosses paths with a girl called Wildcat (Lily-Rose Depp), a German Shepard boy (Fionn O’Shea) and a Darwinist -master-of-the-house called The Zookeeper (Paddy Considine) who is, as psych institute movies seem to require, a little insane. Nevertheless, Jacob sees more existential truth when in his wolf form, so he and Wildcat hatch a plan to escape.
MacKay’s career has already shown an intense dedication to roles that might be boring in another actor’s hands. Here, he particularly shines. As Jacob, his body somehow moves like a wolf, joints turning in unnatural directions and body twisted in ways about which a yoga master might only fantasize. In tandem is fantastic, eerie lighting that highlights the shadowed contortions of MacKay’s body in a way that would be lost in any standard way of shooting.
But are MacKay’s protruding joints enough to carry an entire film? Maybe, as some of us are more than happy to see semi-clothed good-looking actors crawl around the floor. Biancheri (Nocturnal) has a marvelous eye in her second feature and knows how to isolate characters in the frame to create a haunted house atmosphere. Yet, with such a dismal tone, we have to ask: Is this the right way to frame this story?
The whys of Wolf never come close to getting answers, but there’s a hint of a metaphor about gender identity and/or conversion therapy. Binancheri doesn’t fully commit, though. Instead, Wolf is far more fascinated with its own premise than anything else it might offer—so much so that you might be left wondering if this is just a sick circus-like glimpse into Jacob’s world. It’s worth a watch for MacKay howling at the moon.
7
+MacKay is dedicated
-Clumsy themes
Wolf
Directed by Biancheri
With Mackay, Depp and O’Shea
Violet Crown, R, 98 min
