Film Review: The Wolfman (2010)
Posted on | July 6, 2010 | No Comments
The Wolfman (2010)
Directed by Joe Johnston
http://www.thewolfmanmovie.com/
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Prodigal son Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) returns to the country house of his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins) after hearing his brother has gone missing, but finds he has come too late. His brother’s dead body was found in the forest, mauled by a strange beast, which the villagers say is a demon. Lawrence promises to find the cause of his brother’s death.
This film is pretty much exactly what you’d expect, right down to the wolfman makeup reminiscent of Lon Chaney’s, the Oedipal issues, the analogy between the transformation and sexual arousal and/or “lunacy”, cobwebbed manors, a joyless virgin/mother figure as a love interest, angry mobs, rooftop chases and copious amounts of gore. The plot may have been altered from the 1941 original, but the elements are all there.
That it is just what you would expect is both the film’s charm and its letdown. We’ve all seen this before, and even if we haven’t, we’ve probably learned about it via cultural osmosis, but it’s comforting in a nostalgic way to see it again without he taint of modern film conventions, save for the improvement in visual effects. This, however, also leaves the film rather serious and oppressive, and full of dated moral lessons*. The only glee to be found is that apparently put into depicting the bloody mess the lycanthrope leaves in his wake. Forget about dreams of sex and power. In The Wolfman‘s world, those things are evil, and will see you destroyed.
Benicio del Toro’s soulful face and nuanced performance is perfect for the role, but Anthony Hopkins steals the show with one simple stratagem – by delivering his lines, whatever they be about, nonchalantly, mildly. His Mr Talbot brings into perfect balance the distant father, the maniac and the good, law-abiding victim of circumstances. Emily Blunt as Gwen, Lawrence’s dead brother’s fiancée, Lawrence’s love interest and his mother ‘s lookalike, doesn’t have much to do but be pure, honest and unhappy. Hugo Weaving does an excellent turn as a cold, efficient detective on the trail of the killer, a character that could have used a lot more screen time.
The most chilling moments, perversely enough, are offered by the scenes of Lawrence’s incarceration in a mental asylum, and the “scientific process” (mental and physical torture) to which he is subjected.
If you’re a fan of classic horror movies, you’ll either hate this as an inferior copy or enjoy it as a shiny fan creation by someone who obviously shares your love for the genre. For everyone else, it’s worth it for the performances, and as a fresh look into cinema history and the thematics of Victorian and early 20th century horror – but don’t expect a joyride.
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* Not to imply moral lessons are dated by definition; just all that shit about how having a stiffy will turn you into a sociopath. Did I mention how problematic it is to conflate sexual arousal and wanting to rip a woman’s throat open?
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Bechdel test:
1. It has at least two female characters,
2. who talk to each other
3. about something other than a man.
There was the love interest (Gwen), the dead mom and the gypsy fortune teller. It may be there was some dialogue between two gypsy women, but I’m not sure.
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