THE WOLFMAN

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self
Directed by Joe Johnston
Starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving


Sir John Talbot: Never look back, son. The past is a wilderness of horror.

Theoretically, I would welcome any monster movie these days that wasn’t about vampires and that also wasn’t geared towards teenage girls. When that alternative is THE WOLFMAN though, a remake of the 1941 George Waggner film, I find myself longing to have every drop of blood sucked from my body instead.


THE WOLFMAN is a bit of a pet project (pun as fully intended as the moon that brings out the beast) for star, Benicio Del Toro, as he also serves as co-producer. I suppose he saw the appeal as a potential blockbuster that would make the Oscar winner more of a household name. The possibility was certainly there but he also should have considered whether a decent script was there as well. Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot, a British-born, successful actor (I can hardly buy Del Toro as American, let alone a British-born American), who was exiled to the United States as a child by his father after a particularly traumatic family tragedy. He has only returned home now because his brother has gone missing.

The search for his brother leads Lawrence and the rest of this small, late 19th-century town to the discovery of The Wolfman. That discovery leads to Lawrence being bit by the beast and subsequently succumbing to the curse that comes with. The townsfolk are baffled by the atrocities inflicted by the beast upon the innocents because they have never seen anything like this before. This makes sense to me. What doesn’t is how they all seem to be familiar with Wolfman lore, like how silver bullets are required to kill him or how he only comes out when the moon is full. If this is where the legend begins, how would they even stumble upon these conclusions, let alone know them outright?


Man and beast and the differences or lack thereof between the two is a central Wolfman theme. Modernizing the tale though does not bring any new insight on the pairing. In fact, it almost seems too simplistic to still be considered revealing about human nature. Yes, man continues to struggle with its own animal instincts but these primal urges are all for show in THE WOLFMAN. The tale was clearly only updated to present it with visual effects that would do the gore justice rather than reinvigorate it with relevance. And as there aren’t that many fight sequences (waiting for lunar cycles to pass before seeing the title character reappear does not make for a great deal of suspense), even that purpose seems like an after thought.

Watching THE WOLFMAN means watching a lot more than just innocent people dying gruesome deaths on screen; it also means watching the combined talent of the ensemble cast being torn to shreds. Anthony Hopkins, as Lawrence’s father, is a kooky old man who has lost his own plot, let alone the even thinner plot of this film. Emily Blunt is as lovely as always but reduced to nonsensical character development. And Del Toro, aside from his baffling accent, is never strong enough to be considered manly or fierce enough to be seen as beastly. Fortunately, Hugo Weaving is on hand as the inspector assigned to the case. Weaving brings that special brand of bland that, if we’re all very lucky and this film does find a sizable audience, we will all get to see again in the sequel.


I have not seen the original so I cannot fairly compare but I can say that I expect THE WOLFMAN to be about raw aggression that cannot help but be let out on an unsuspecting public. Director, Joe Johnston’s take is decidedly different, focusing more on daddy issues and about finding the right woman to tame the beast. With such insipid back story, I’d say the beast in question has already been domesticated.

V FOR VENDETTA

Written by Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Directed by James McTeigue

“I wish I wasn’t afraid all the time but … I am.” A young lady speaks these words to a man in a mask who has imprisoned her in his home. This time in captivity is the most free she has ever felt. London waits outside these walls, as does her job, her friends and what she calls home. The insides of these walls are lined with art; the room is filled with history, music, colour, life. The mask the man is wearing is a Guy Fawkes mask, in honour of the man who once plotted to blow up the parliament building in London as part of a Catholic plot to overthrow the British government. The man behind the mask, known simply as V, plans to finish what Fawkes started centuries before and blow up parliament in the name of the British people so that they can reclaim the freedoms of life they gave up to their government out of fear years before. While the government and media, naturally controlled by the government, proclaim V a terrorist, V sees himself more as an artist. For V, the artist is one who uses lies to tell the truth while politicians use lies to cover the truth up. The men behind this brave film clearly feel the same as they make a terrorist into a sympathetic protagonist and draw undeniable lines between the ruling British government of V’s world and the current political relationship of the United States government and it’s people. As writers, the Wachowski brothers choose to highlight fear as the motivating factor in people’s lives but go so far as to implicate the government as the major perpetuator of that fear. This is not a fresh accusation but the Wachowski’s go boldly further to accuse the government, fictional or otherwise, of not only maintaining a stronghold on it’s people through fear but originating that fear to begin with, subsequently forcing the people to abandon the original motivating factor in their lives, love.

The frightened young lady being held captive by V is Evey (Natalie Portman). Director James McTeigue, longtime protégé of the Wachowski’s, instantly links Evey and V together in the opening sequence of the film by juxtaposing the two characters getting ready for their evening. They are both fixing themselves in the mirror, putting on boots. They both watch the same television news program and both shut it off at the same obnoxious point in the commentator’s monologue. They are both putting on their armour to protect themselves in the night, her from harm, him from human connection, and they both have similar views and ideals. The major difference, she’s going out to visit a colleague and he’s going out to blow up a building. As Evey, Portman is composed and confident. Throughout the course of the film, her character learns to open eyes that have been closed in fear since she was a small child when she witnessed her parents’ abduction by a government task force. With her eyes wide open, she can finally stare fear down and see there is a grander design that she is but a small yet vital part of. Hugo Weaving plays the role of V although it may be more appropriate to say the role of V is voiced by Weaving, as we never see him without his mask. Weaving’s delivery is both eloquent and polite making for a poetic and charming terrorist. Together, V and Evey are a delightful couple. McTeigue puts them in very simple and close situations, like sharing a breakfast V prepares for her or cozying up on the couch to watch V’s favorite film, “The Count of Monte Christo”, which Evey enjoys but finds sad as the hero chooses duty over love.


Evey’s quest is in all of us and we all must overcome our fear, as must she. Placing the viewer on par with a terrorist and his apprentice is what makes V FOR VENDETTA so poignant and effective. At a critical moment in Evey’s journey, which can also be ours, she must give herself over to faith and allow herself to be the person she wants to be. Her future self must choose to leave her present self behind her for the present self is too heavily controlled by her past to do what needs to be done to effectuate change. Explosions will ensue and life will be forever changed. It is the change that we cannot fear for we have sacrificed so much of ourselves to that fear. V FOR VENDETTA is dark and bleak. The citizens need a deep extremism, shown here in a stylized pairing of bombs and fireworks set to Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”, to wake them from their complacency. This is where my fears come into play. I fear that we are far too comfortable, far too afraid, and far too apathetic to respond to the call to overthrow those who impede our growth as individuals and as a species. I fear we believe change will come but that it will just happen without any work on our part at all.

V FOR VENDETTA is playful and cheeky. It is exciting and insightful. It can be very wordy but I like wordy. Ultimately, its very root is fearless and that bravery will energize and invigorate the viewer.