{🚨SOME SPOILERS PRESENT🚨} Directed by Mike Nichols, Wolf is about Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) who after being bitten by a wolf begins to experience changes that give him great strength and heightened senses. He uses these gifts to get his life back on track, but it all comes at a price when night falls and he becomes increasingly feral, slowly transforming into a wolf.
As you know I have a huge soft spot for werewolf films but this is one of the most unique and overlooked werewolf films to come out in the 90s. The reason is because this a rather mature and realistic take on the werewolf genre that you never really see being made anymore. It’s a rare breed you could say, it isn’t your run of the mill werewolf flick as it has very intelligent characters dealing with a paranormal situation in a realistic way.
The lead character is a smart business man that is trying to save his job and ends up using these gifts of his to help him do so, while also figuring out the rest of his life. But then, of course, he begins to endure the darker side of what he had been given as he succumbs to wild instincts, soon leading to blood being shed.
The way this is executed is so well done and stands out compared to other werewolf flicks that have pretty clueless characters dealing with lycanthropy. It feels adult, it focuses a lot more on the characters than on the werewolf stuff, and it feels so refreshing. I can certainly compare this film to Unbreakable, which also took a popular genre and created a unique take that helped it stand out.
And just like Unbreakable, this film was very overlooked by many people, especially due to false marketing that painted this film as a more werewolf-fueled horror. There are definitely elements of horror in this, and there are actually a lot of creepy scenes that take place, but this isn’t necessarily a film that is going for all out horror. There are elements of drama, romance and thriller interwoven within the narrative, and it’s all directed and acted beautifully.
Jack Nicholson as a werewolf is just as fantastic as it sounds because he really gives his all into this performance. This film was a passion project for him that he attempted to have made for many years, and around the 90s he was starting to show obvious signs of his age. But despite this he played a truly convincing werewolf as well as just a really intelligent business man with a lot of charm. He isn’t some college student or young man, he’s an older gentleman that is dealing with a paranormal situation in a more mature fashion. Of course he does feel shocked and scared of what he’s becoming and what he commits, but it isn’t done in an over the top way.
And on top of that, he’s also trying to maintain his job as an editor-in-chief at a publishing house as it’s being taken over by a corporate tycoon (Christopher Plummer). And he has to deal with personal problems like his protege, Stewart Swinton (James Spader), who not only has been trying to take his job but also has been having an affair with his wife. This eventually pushes him to have a romance with his boss’s daughter, Laura, who is played perfectly by Michelle Pfeiffer.
The romance these two have together is so damn good. It’s not melodramatic or cheesy at all, it just feels so natural and not forced. They feel like two people with an actual connection and not just actors playing characters. From their simple interactions to their dialogue you really believe in this romance all the way through.
The acting in the film is superb across the board, including minor characters, which makes a script that you’d think is dumb on paper actually work on screen.
Both of these men are slowly becoming wolves, and this eventually leads them to a vicious and graphic fight where they are literally tearing the shit out of each other. It’s such a great pay off and I like how it’s at a gradual pace, and that when it is done it actually looks fantastic thanks to fantastic make up and effects by the famous Rick Baker.
And speaking of effects, this film uses zero CGI in the entire film for all the werewolf stuff. Classic transition effects similar to Wolfman are used, and practical work is also used and for the most part it’s all aged well and adds to the realism. There is also a lot of practical stunt work, but while it does look great this results in some scenes where you can tell it looks fake, or that there is an obvious stunt man rather than the actors. It’s one of the most notable faults the film has, although in some sequences you can overlook it since it is filmed so well.
There’s a lot of great cinematography and editing in this film, featuring excellent transitions as I said, as well as giving attention to detail for the story and characters. However, there is another slight issue that I will bring up in regards to the editing and directing. While overall this is a gorgeously made movie there is an excessive amount of slow motion used in the film. In most of the scenes it’s done well but I feel there doesn’t need to be so much of it. It kind of dips in quality at certain points and it can sometimes hold back the intensity of certain scenes, though not all the time thankfully.
There is one particular character played by Om Puri who has knowledge of what Will is going through, and while the scene is mostly for some exposition and rather clever foreshadowing, it’s also just a very, very well acted scene. Jack and Om in this one scene are amazing because they manage to take lines that on paper you’d think would come out ridiculous, and make it sound so natural and so good that you never feel it’s corny in any way. It is consistent with the mature tone that the rest of the film achieves incredibly well, while also injecting some well timed moments of humor in appropriate places.
I do also like that there are some parts of the narrative that are open ended for the viewers’ imagination, specifically for some of the werewolf stuff. Like in the beginning, there were multiple wolves present next to the one that bites Will, which makes you question if they were all human once. Or the scene with Om Puri’s character where he refers to having met others like Will, but that Will was very different compared to him. Even the ending has been open to interpretation and theories that are interesting to look at.
The werewolf scenes that occur throughout the film aren’t like your full out hair, fangs and claws scenes like you get in other works. The transformation is slower, so Will retains human qualities, but as each night passes he evolves more wolf like features before the inevitable happens. However, he is the only one that slowly changes in this film. James Spader’s character, Stewart, early on in the film is bitten on the hand by Will in one scene. And later on as the film progresses you still see he has a bandaged hand that never gets focused on but is subtly still present, so that viewers keep it in mind. Eventually the reveal is shown when Stewart’s eyes have become wolf-like showing, that he too has become a werewolf and, due to having a more evil side, he inherits more fierce traits compared to Will.
The music was done by the late Ennio Morricone, and compared to his more operatic and grander scores of the past, the one he did for Wolf is, like the film, more grounded, light and creepy similar to his work in John Carpenter’s The Thing. It is different compared to his previous work, but honestly, the music fits so well here, and it enhances the feel of certain scenes that it sticks with you. When you hear the score all you can imagine is the full moon and chills go down your spine. Who knew that pieces of soft jazz could make you shiver, but if anyone could have done so it was Morricone (RIP).
Despite the problems it has, Wolf is truly a one of a kind werewolf flick that accomplished something that barely any other werewolf films these days attempt to achieve. The amount of effort and money that went towards this film really shows, having powerhouse performances, a subtle yet mature and suspenseful narrative, and nearly perfect on a technical level. If you have the chance to watch it I totally recommend giving it a shot cause it deserves attention. I’m going to give Wolf an A.