The Company of Wolves
Overview
The Company of Wolves is a film that stands at the confluence of folklore, fantasy, and the psychosexual underpinnings of fairy tales. Directed by Neil Jordan and co-written with Angela Carter, the film adapts Carter's eponymous short story from her acclaimed collection, "The Bloody Chamber". It presents a dreamlike narrative that interlaces a contemporary story with ancient, mythic elements, drawing heavily on the allegorical tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Austin rates this as one of the most richly symbolic films ever made and claims it as a personal favourite.
Narrative
The film's narrative unfurls within the dreams of Rosaleen (portrayed by Sarah Patterson), a young girl who finds herself in a fantastical version of 18th-century Europe. In this pastoral dreamscape, she encounters the tragic demise of her sister, attributed to the wolves that haunt the surrounding woods. Sent on a journey to her grandmother's house, played by Angela Lansbury, Rosaleen traverses a forest that teems with symbolic dangers.
Thematic Vignettes
Throughout Rosaleen's journey, the film intersperses several vignettes, each a story within a story, narrated by Rosaleen or her grandmother. These tales are rich in allegory, touching upon themes of burgeoning sexuality, the passage into adulthood, and the inherent duality of man. The wolves serve as potent metaphors for masculine desire and the loss of innocence, challenging traditional horror motifs.
Direction and Production
Neil Jordan's directorial approach imbues the film with an atmosphere that is both ethereal and unsettling. The production design is lavishly baroque, creating a world that oscillates between fantasy and nightmare. The transformation scenes, a hallmark of the werewolf genre, are rendered with groundbreaking special effects for the era. Complementing the visual narrative is a haunting score by George Fenton, which amplifies the film's otherworldly ambiance.
Critical Analysis
Critically, the film is often examined through a feminist lens, subverting the passive female archetypes of classic fairy tales. Rosaleen's character emerges not as a victim but as an empowered figure who claims her sexuality and agency. The Company of Wolves invites audiences to re-evaluate the inherited narratives of fairy tales and to scrutinise the social constructs of gender and identity.
Metaphorical and Symbolic Nature
The Wolf as Metaphor
The wolf emerges as a central metaphor within The Company of Wolves, representing the multifarious nature of male sexuality and desire. The transformation scenes, where man becomes wolf, serve as a stark visual metaphor for the awakening of sexual consciousness and the subsequent loss of innocence. This metamorphosis is not merely a physical change but a symbolic representation of the tumultuous nature of this transition.
Red Riding Hood Reimagined
Rosaleen, the film's protagonist, is a complex reimagining of the traditional Red Riding Hood. Her red cloak becomes a symbol of menstruation and the awakening of feminine sexuality, a significant departure from the naive girl of the original fairy tales. Her journey is emblematic of the adolescent passage, fraught with peril and enlightenment.
The Forest as a Symbol
The forest in The Company of Wolves is depicted as a liminal and subconscious space, echoing the perils and possibilities of the adolescent experience. It is a place where societal norms are obscured, and primal urges rise to the surface, symbolising the inner conflict and the allure of the unknown that characterise the journey to adulthood.
Primary Themes
The Duality of Mankind
A key theme of the film is the duality inherent in mankind, the concept that there exists a primal beast within all. The werewolves are portrayed not as mere monsters but as tragic figures, embodying the internal struggle between civilisation and primal instinct.
Coming of Age
The coming-of-age narrative is central to the film, with Rosaleen's encounters with the wolves serving as allegories for the trials one faces on the path to maturity. The grandmother's tales are imbued with warnings of the deceptions and dangers that accompany adult life, especially for women.
Gender and Power
The film explores the dynamics of gender and power, critiquing the traditional fairy tale narrative that warns of men who are "hairy on the inside". Rosaleen's character subverts the victim-predator dynamic, asserting her own power and agency.
The Subversion of Fairy Tales
The Company of Wolves subverts the conventional fairy tale, infusing dark and complex themes into familiar stories. It challenges the viewer to reconsider the moral lessons of traditional tales, suggesting that true knowledge and power come from confronting and understanding the darkness within and without.