"The Company of Wolves" focuses on the dreams of a teenage girl, Rosaleen, which are populated by stories of wolves and other mysterious goings-on occurring in the woods below her family's lush home.
This unusual part-fantasy, part-horror offering was director Neil Jordan's debut feature, and as is the case with many of his films, it is likely to divide a room. The most unusual variable here is that the film does not so much follow a character, but rather the various storybook dreams she has, which themselves are mediated through an 18th-century dreamworld in which the narratives are recounted to her by her grandmother. It is the girl's subconscious that becomes a mode of storytelling, leading the audience through several episodic sequences that feel almost like short films encapsulated in a Russian doll. Running underneath the architecture of it all are fairly obvious themes revolving around Rosaleen's purity, the dangers of sexuality, and masculine rage.
For sake of the uncanny, the lead actress, Sarah Patterson, appears throughout in different roles. The film is populated with great actors, including Angela Lansbury (playing the matronly grandmother of Rosaleen; David Warner as the father; and Stephen Rea and Terence Stamp, both of whom appear in some of the self-contained narratives.
In usual Neil Jordan style, this film is very much preoccupied with its visuals, which are laid on thick. The film was obviously mostly shot on studio sets, but the woodsy recreations are atmospheric and give it the look of a classic horror film. There are some fantastic special effects as well, in particular a practical werewolf transformation scene.
Though it is not a film that all will appreciate, "The Company of Wolves" gets high marks for being visually sumptuous, well acted, and beautifully shot. The multi-pronged storyline and general structure of the film is very unorthodox, and can at times be a bit tedious. Despite this, though, the film is a visual and technical marvel, and overall a psychologically rife take on the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale. 7/10.
This unusual part-fantasy, part-horror offering was director Neil Jordan's debut feature, and as is the case with many of his films, it is likely to divide a room. The most unusual variable here is that the film does not so much follow a character, but rather the various storybook dreams she has, which themselves are mediated through an 18th-century dreamworld in which the narratives are recounted to her by her grandmother. It is the girl's subconscious that becomes a mode of storytelling, leading the audience through several episodic sequences that feel almost like short films encapsulated in a Russian doll. Running underneath the architecture of it all are fairly obvious themes revolving around Rosaleen's purity, the dangers of sexuality, and masculine rage.
For sake of the uncanny, the lead actress, Sarah Patterson, appears throughout in different roles. The film is populated with great actors, including Angela Lansbury (playing the matronly grandmother of Rosaleen; David Warner as the father; and Stephen Rea and Terence Stamp, both of whom appear in some of the self-contained narratives.
In usual Neil Jordan style, this film is very much preoccupied with its visuals, which are laid on thick. The film was obviously mostly shot on studio sets, but the woodsy recreations are atmospheric and give it the look of a classic horror film. There are some fantastic special effects as well, in particular a practical werewolf transformation scene.
Though it is not a film that all will appreciate, "The Company of Wolves" gets high marks for being visually sumptuous, well acted, and beautifully shot. The multi-pronged storyline and general structure of the film is very unorthodox, and can at times be a bit tedious. Despite this, though, the film is a visual and technical marvel, and overall a psychologically rife take on the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale. 7/10.