The Company of Wolves
- Director: Neil Jordan
- Writer: Angela Carter / Neil Jordan (from the short story by Angela Carter)
- Producer: Chris Brown / Stephen Woolley
- Studio: ITC
- Stars: Angela Lansbury, Sarah Patterson, David Warner
- Length: 92 Minutes
- Genre: Horror / Fantasy
- MPAA Rating: R
- My Rating: ****
- Oscar Nominations: None
- Nightbird Nominations: Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Costume Design, Makeup
“Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet,” Granny advises Rosaleen. She then recites a story to the girl, a story which her own mother told her as a child, and her mother before her. The story is meant to warn Rosaleen, who is at the beginning of her transition into womanhood, of the sort of men she may meet in the forest. These men may look normal enough, but within each of them lie the souls of beasts. Instead of frightening the girl, however, Granny’s stories of lustful, murderous men only serve to intrigue Rosaleen enormously.
The Company of Wolves is based on Angela Carter’s short stories, which in turn were based on wolf folklore, as well as the timeless fable concerning Little Red Riding Hood. In her writings, Carter expanded on the age-old tales and added an extra dose of feminism and eroticism, helping to update and elucidate the stories.
It has been said that the tale of the little girl with red cape who strayed from the path and came face to face with a devious wolf, was told to daughters by their mothers to warn them of rapists. If this is true, then Miss Carter has turned this concept on its ear. In her world of sexually liberated young women, Rosaleen longs for a man who will expose her to exhilarating danger.
The themes that flow through the film’s veins are never forced, feeling completely organic. From the feministic standpoint (all of the females in the story are portrayed in some way as victims who later learn to stand up for themselves) to the idea that all men are wolves in disguise, every concept that the film puts forth is very delicately placed.
The Company of Wolves is a small film to be sure, but, like each of Angela Carter’s short stories, it has much to say, and does so with a distinct grace and style.
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