The Company of Wolves

A version of the Little Red Riding Hood story, based on some short stories. Directed by Neil Jordan who co-wrote with the original author Angela Carter.

It begins in modern day where Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson, about 12 or 13 at the time although she looks more mature here), is having a nightmare. In her dream, which is the majority of the film, the characters are also played by the actors playing her real life family.

A girl, who is her sister, is running through a surreal forest where she is chased and killed by wolves. Later in the dream, Rosaleen is sent to live with her granny (Angela Lansbury) for a while for her safety, and granny is often admonishing her to not “stray off the path,” both physically and metaphorically. While Granny knits a red shawl for Rosaleen, she tells several horror stories involving werewolves to demonstrate her warnings.

All of the stories depicted have sexual overtones.

In one, a new groom (Stephen Rea) abandons his bride when he sees the moon, only to return years later,  transforming into a wolf and killed by her new husband. In another, during a lavish wedding, a scorned woman curses her lover, who is marrying someone else, and he and his guests are turned into wolves. In other stories, wolves and sexuality continue to be combined. Meanwhile, the citizens are trying to catch the wolf that killed Rosaleen’s sister.

Rosaleen is also on the verge of puberty, there is a local boy who is enamored of her, and the last portion of the dream is when she meets a charismatic stranger on the road to Granny’s. Rosaleen seems to welcome his advances but also is repelled him. It ends back in the modern day world where Rosaleen wakes up and a wolf invades her bedroom.

A beautifully made gothic film and although everything takes place on sets, the stylized look of the film is graphically good. The look reminds me of those photo spreads in Vanity Fair magazine where young stars act out a scene from an old movie. The special effects where men transform into wolves are made without the use of CGI (this was in 1994 I believe) and is creepily real looking. The young actress’ look was just right for a rosy lipped pre-pubescent girl, and her acting manner was mature. Lansbury, as the only really big name star at the time, was pretty good as the know-it-all granny too. Also I don’t know if it means what it might mean, but there is also a snake and Rosaleen eats an apple in the forest, most likely an allusion to Eve. I also like the story within a story within a story structure of it.

It makes me want to read the stories the film is based on.