ScreenWize

A remake, done well, can be a splendid thing, and for a while there it appears that The Wolfman is indeed splendid. But only for a while. Revisiting the 1941 classic starring Lon Cheney, the film’s writers, Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self, stay true to its B-movie origins, dripping in atmosphere. Between them they have an impeccable pedigree, including Sleepy Hollow, Se7en and The Road to Perdition, and there are touches of all these films in this tight work, especially the overt torture porn of Se7en.

Having been estranged from his family and now working as an actor on the New York stage, Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) receives a pleading letter from his brother’s fiancée Gwen (Emily Blunt), and he returns to Blackmoor, his ancestral home in England. After reuniting with his father (Anthony Hopkins), he combs the superstitious town folk and the unwanted gypsies on the moor for clues to his brother’s killer, who he meets all too soon.
Benicio Del Toro is perfectly cast – the man is a brooding machine, and while he seems oddly out of place throughout, his character is after all a soft New York actor thrown among gypsies and deamons. Emily Blunt is, as ever, a very watchable actress. In earlier incarnations, this role would be mere window dressing, but Gwen has curiousity and strength, like a Victorian-era Dana Scully.
Kinder critics might find depth in Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance, but the film does find a touch of old-school Hollywood elegance with the presence of Geraldine Chaplin as a mysterious gypsy and Art Malik as the loyal houseman Singh. Hugo Weaving, meanwhile, makes very fine work out of an under-written role, as Scotland Yard’s man on the case.
Blockbuster director Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Jurassic Park III) stepped into the big chair just weeks before filming started. He obviously inherited much - a fun gothic score by Danny Elfman, make-up by veteran Rick Baker (whose work has seen better days – An American Werewolf in London, for instance). Expertly framed, Johnston and his lighting team work some acts of pure magic – light is thrown down hard at times, then it comes as a soft caress, dressing Rick Heinrichs’ production design in a warm blue and reminding us throughout of dangers to come. But despite an abundance of beauty, Johnston doesn’t seem to find the emotional core to the film. In the end, The Wolfman reminded me of a couple of people I have dated - achingly beautiful but emotionally barren, and just a tiny little bit scary.

CK

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon