Shapeshifters Film Review 4: Neil Jordan’s Company of Wolves (1984)

Fig. 1. The Company of Wolves Poster

          

            Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves is a gothic adaptation of the fairy tale ‘Red Riding Hood’, exploring more darker themes of its usually gentler retelling. Jordan’s version moves away from the overused “happy ever-after” storyline in a fairy tale and tries to evoke something more sinister within us and almost suffocate us to a point of fear and enticement. An example of this would be the colour scheme and set design, bringing together dark grey and black gloomy colours within a cramped set trapping us while Rosaleens’ red cloak frees us from this to the point where we want to see it more, almost desire it.

Fig. 2. Forest Scene

Along with the set and cloak the film is also rich with symbolism used to reinforce the nightmare effect on the audience and represent the step into maturity and the darkness that accompanies it. When Rosaleen walks into the forest dark figures lurk in the shadows, toads start appearing and snakes slither around the roots of trees. This symbolism creates an atmosphere unlike the fairy tale; “It is not a children's film and it is not an exploitation film; it is a disturbing and stylish attempt to collect some of the nightmares that lie beneath the surface of ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’” (Ebert, 1985)

Fig. 3. Nest Scene

Behind the all the symbolism and werewolves however lies a deeper theme, The Company of Wolves explores the journey of a young girl who ventures into unknown territory fraught with unpleasant surprises; a journey in which she will lose her innocence, essentially entering the world of maturity. The depiction of the werewolf is merely a metaphor for men unleashing their carnal desire for sexual lust, and Rosaleen becomes entangled in this web of emotional discovery;
“The sexual and womanly innuendos suggested by the Little Red Riding Hood tale are all here; from wolves and their ‘call of nature’ to Rosaleen’s first discovery of a mirror, lipstick, and eggs that hatch into baby dolls. Is Little Red Riding Hood merely a tale warning one not to talk to strangers or stray from the trusted and safe path- or is it a darker analysis of the predatory nature of man’s carnal desires for girls as they menstruate and grow into womanhood?” (Battlestella, 2009).

Fig. 4. Stranger in the Woods

Rosaleen’s road to womanhood is met with a great change to her inner self at the end of the film when she turns into a wolf herself and runs away with the pack. This scene is the final arriving point of maturity and it’s the culmination of all the small experiences that she had to go through to get here, “This Red Riding Hood, sharing a single-room cabin with her mother and father, witnesses what in analysis is usually called 'the primal scene.' The next morning she asks her mother if her father had hurt her. Answers Mother, 'If there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women, too.'” (Canby, 1985). The mothers’ quote summarizes the films’ idea that women can be animals on the inside as well, that once they reach maturity they lose a bit of their innocence and can be just as animalistic as men.

Fig. 5. Rosaleen and the Wolf

Bibliography

Ebert, R. (1985) rogerebert.com http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19850422/REVIEWS/504220301 (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Battlestella, K. (2009) I Think, Therefore I Review. http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/2009/05/company-of-wolves.html (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Canby, V. (1985) The New York Times http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802EFD91138F93AA25757C0A963948260 (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Illustration List

Fig. 1. Jordan, Neil (1984) The Company of Wolves Poster At: http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/38632662/ (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Fig. 2. Forest Scene (1984) From: The Company of Wolves Directed by: Neil Jordan [film still] UK: ITC, Palace Pictures At: http://www.moviesmademe.com/movie-stills/9171 (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Fig. 3. Nest Scene (1984) From: The Company of Wolves Directed by: Neil Jordan [film still] UK: ITC, Palace Pictures At: http://www.moviesmademe.com/movie-stills/9169 (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

Fig. 4. Stranger in the Woods (1984) From: The Company of Wolves Directed by: Neil Jordan [film still] UK: ITC, Palace Pictures At: http://www.moviesmademe.com/movie-stills/9182 (Accessed on: 16.10.11)

 
Fig. 5. Rosaleen and the Wolf (1984) From: The Company of Wolves Directed by: Neil Jordan [film still] UK: ITC, Palace Pictures At: http://www.damonart.com/myth_wolves.html (Accessed on: 16.10.11)