User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. We all know that gender identity, and identity in general, are topics receiving a great deal of attention these days. Writer-director Nathalie Biancheri latches on to the discussion by bringing up Species Identity Disorder, also known as Otherkin. These are folks who identify as something other than human, typically a type of animal. It's easy enough to connect the dots to gender dysphoria, but it also walks a fine line between mental health and sadness (and if we are being honest, a bit of humor - at least as presented here).

The film opens on the bare butt of a male in the forest. That's a sentence I hope to never write again. George MacKay stars as Jacob, a young man who identifies as a wolf. It's his butt we first glimpse as he prowls the vegetation growing in nature. Next we see Jacob with his parents at an institution that specializes in Species Identity Disorder. The questionable curative therapies conducted by Dr. Mann (get it?) seem more like torture and humiliation than treatment. Dr. Mann (played straight-faced by Paddy Considine) is also known as 'The Zookeeper' as the patients include: a parrot, a duck, a squirrel, a horse, and a German shepherd.

It's unsettling to see the actions and mannerisms of these patients, but equally unsettling to witness Dr. Mann's methods. If you've ever seen THE SNAKE PIT (1948), then you have some idea of how disturbing institutional treatment can be. Of course, this movie is not at the level of that Anatole Litvak classic, but George MacKay's performance is quite something to appreciate. We saw his physical abilities as he performed yoga in CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016), and here he expertly creates the movements (and howls) of the wolf he believes himself to be.

Lily-Rose Depp plays Cecile, a long-term patient who has yet to fully kick her wildcat tendencies. She and Jacob manage to become friends, and the attraction goes deeper through Jacob's primal urges and tendencies. The two actors have one scene together that, by itself, elevates the film. Obviously the real mystery is whether Jacob's bonding with Cecile is enough to change his outlook. He much choose between what he sees as his true self, and life as a man. Director Biancheri has delivered a high-concept arthouse film that will likely find a niche audience, while others are likely to brush it off as cinematic absurdity.

Opens in theaters on December 3, 2021.

Concept was kind of okay, acting was "interesting", but it just wasn't enough. Felt like half a movie, just a one dimensional plot with no cohesion. I get the main point of it, but why bother? It needed more substance and less howling 😂😂😂! The primary lead actor and lily are great. But besides that I just couldn't get into it. 4/10.

It's like a joke wrapped in a film, wrapped in bewilderingly bad acting (but honestly, they couldn't have gone anywhere with the script and are mostly at fault for even accepting this allegorical atrocity), wrapped in a terrible story - all wrapped into utter boredom.

"It's not about surviving, it's about surviving as me."

Believing he is a wolf trapped in a human body, Jacob eats, sleeps, and lives like a wolf -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of 'curative' therapies. However once he meets the mysterious Wildcat, and as their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, Jacob is faced with a challenge: will he renounce his true self for love. Wolf is an interesting movie. Even before it's release at festivals and theatrical, it was met with mixed reactions. A project like this would never work well with most audiences, but I'm glad they went for it. This is by no means a great movie, but with everything it covers, I think it's solid for the most part. To get one thing out of the way, it can be uncomfortable to watch. Quickly, it turns the uncomfortableness onto humanity and no these people suffering from species identity disorder. This is a real thing that needs to be taken seriously even if it's a little absurd. Writer and director Nathalie Biancheri knew how to handle this and make it serious. I do think she thought this was something greater than it is. For every festival it went to, this description was: A high-concept arthouse drama about a boy who believes he is a wolf. A bit pretentious, don't you think? And this is pretentious. But it makes do by creating something pretty interesting and you can see she cares.

George MacKay absolutely soars in this. This is a transformative role and he embodies his character with precision. His counterpart, Lily-Rose Depp also goes for it. Her character intrigued me the most and I feel we know more about her than anyone else. If the movie needed one thing, it was characterization. There is a lack of it and it's hard to find reasons to care for them. The antagonist, though played well by Paddy Considine, is just a bad guy because he's using awful methods to revert them to their normal selves though they want to be like this. I found it hard to connect with anyone. When the themes come in, and they are really strong, I could apply them to the characters but I couldn't tell you much about them. The script could've used some work at parts. And the pacing didn't flow right. The third act works really well but the first two run on highs and lows. Had it not been for some memorable moments throughout and most of the last act, this would've fell completely flat. But this is a memorable movie, mainly because the content. Wolf showcases some great acting, interesting themes, and really good cinematography. It's a shame not too many people are talking about it. It needs more work, but I found it quite interesting. When I went to see it, I was in a large auditorium on opening night and I was the only one there. Weird experience but I'm glad I had it. This is one of the movies of the year that has mixed-negative reactions that I liked.

George Mackay portraits wolf very well. The sound & the movement totally show how much practice he has put in. However, the storyline & the script are just so terrible. So hard to watch the whole film?

A really unique film for minority of people or at least those who are somehow familiar with lycanthropy. As well as Lobster, it reminds me of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, where care-takers exhibit more brutal behavior than the patients, manifesting authoritarian societies.

Wolf is a poetic tale about the unsatisfied desire for freedom.

It was truly captivating! Loved it!

What did I just watch. MAYBE it could have been a short film...at best. I wanted to cover my ears and gouge my eyes out simultaneously, while then deleting my whole HBO Max account for allowing me to witness this fodder. The script was what you'd expect from an amateur High School theater group, desperate to prove they're edgy and avant-garde. It's one of those roles for Lily-Rose Depp that screams "I don't need nepotism, I can destroy my acting career on my own". And while I admire McKay, and love seeing his career really pick up...lately the majority of his character choices are all the same formula: awkward blank stares, moody huffing and puffing, scowling, gaunt Tim Burton-character-come-to-life energy. Was there ever really a reason for this movie? Did someone think, "You know what kind of movie we need right now?" He was a painfully awkward kid that thought he was a wolf, and that's LITERALLY the whole story.

"Wolf" was super pretentious, and tries it's hardest to wiggle it's way to cult-classic status. Lily-Rose Depp does the most with this role however. There was potential to be something that a wider audience could accept and appreciate, but I think the director, Nathalie Biancheri, tries to outsmart her everyone who watches it.

The film is ultimately untranslatable to an everyday filmgoer, but there might be a small few who take something away from the concepts that are presented.

A boring movie that tries too hard pretending to be interesting. And fails.

I suppose you could see it as a cry for help to improve the treatment of people who suffer from this type of mental disorder, but it does not occur to me that there could be interest beyond that.

It has the air of having been based on a book written by a teenager and the script adapted by another one. Basic and weird dialogs.

I loved this movie. But DO NOT WATCH IF YOURE LOOKING FOR WEREWOLVES or marvel type blockbusters. This is a delicate, strange, mad film. It forces you to reflect beyond the immediate allegory- but you need to want to think about it. I actually find it irritating reading such two dimensional criticism of a work which clearly begs attention and reflection, riddled with philosophical references and existential questions.

An absolutely terrific film about everything from identity, the concept of self, mental illness and the barbarities performed on people 'correcting' them. It works exceptionally well throughout, with likeable and believable characters, but it builds up to a crescendo that never happens. Our hero doesn't attain hs metamorphosis into this true self, despite the appearance that he does, and it all ends up sort of flat on its face. I've rated it for the bulk of the film, which is riveting, but that ending? Oh dear no,,,,

P. S. a shout out to the movement coach who apparently taught the hero his movement. Its one of the most credible human 'wolf' impersonations I've ever seen, no CGI needed. Even more of a shame that impersonation doesn't then fulfil its promise.

The movie is empty. For such a complex topic the movie feels very superficial. We never learn anything about the characters; no beginnings an no endings just the middle which happens to be the movie but without any substance to it.

I was expecting to at least feel something from what I had read about the premise of the movie but I was sad that I finished the movie not feeling moved by it.

Such a waste of what could have been.

"Wolf" is a psychological thriller, revealing the brutality of the clinic for young people who feel they are animals trapped in human bodies. It is about a boy, Jacob (George MacKay), who is a wolf trapped in the body of a child. He will take us on a journey together with his inside partner, a longstanding patient, the graceful Wildcat (Lily-Rose Depp) and the treatment they get (or fail to get) in this facility. And believe me, this is a real thing, species dysphoria! When I read about it, I just had to see the movie. Only near the end will the story really give you satisfaction. A nice twist but there was potential for more. I was not completely satisfied. But that´s just me. I guess this is not only a story about species dysphoria, but being understood by your environment in general. The performances of George MacKay (Jacob) Wildcat (Lily-Rose Depp) and Paddy Considine (Zookeeper) add so much flavour to this movie. Be curious and have a go at it. This movie will rattle your cage...

If you have insomnia, this is your movie! Boring story, terrible acting. I can't believe people rated this bomb 8 or more. Save your time and save your money.

It's unique, different, thought provoking and definitely enjoyable but also disturbing. Cinematography is awesome. Performances are all very good. Screenplay is nice too. But I couldn't tell what the intentions of it are. Through a fictional story, it might be trying to deliver a good message but it could also be interpreted oppositely.

Yeah, the movie does have a bit deeper message and makes you ask a few questions, but the way it was delivered is just too weirs and not understandable... A mental sickness used to show the extremes and thus the very essence of us as beings on this planet is a valid choice, but this... Don't know... It seems too specific an issue to identify. Well, at least for me... People identifying as animals is too specific and a small group we don't see every day and don't really feel that way and can't really identify with them. So, the story is the miss from the very start of it all... I do believe that the idea behind this all, this movie was great, but how it was way delivered is a true miss... Too bad... An idea wasted of too narrow an audience which makes the movie flop and fail. Might have been a way better movie with better writing and better delivery... This way, anything higher than the mark I gave it is, in my humble opinion, too much... Such a waste...

Wolf has a terrific cast, and it's just as well because the story - and the way it is told - relies a huge amount on the players.

This is exactly the kind of production the excesses of drama school caters for. Main players George MacKay and Lily-Rose Depp star as Jacob and Wildcat, part of a group of mainly young people who believe they are birds and animals. Paddy Considine is also very good as The Zookeeper, whose brutal methods of therapy blur between brazen cruelty and viciously curative - we're not sure which.

What develops isn't easy to define. Part horror, part possible love story, but bizarre on all levels, the results are not uninvolving, but seem to meander before some sort of conclusion is reached. Watching this is certainly an experience, and kudos to director Nathalie Biancheri for trying something so unorthodox, and the brilliant cast for entering into it so wholeheartedly. My score is 6 out of 10.

This movie took me back to the time when I pretended to like experimental theater performed in a dimly lit black box theatre. Keening, crawling, crying... It was all there. I'm now too old to muster up the strength to feign enthusiasm for such unnecessary theatrics.

Actually, why waste my words when the actual dialogue, stage-whispered by Lily-Rose Depp's backlit silhouette through the bars of a pitch black jail cell, capture my sentiments exactly:

"The smells. (pause) The ground. (pause) Damp. (pause) Cold. (pause) The trees blurring. (pause) I'm running. (pause) Breathing. (pregnant pause) I have no human form."

I wholeheartedly expected to see Smith appear from upstage, center and "drop trou" in front of Samantha.

It took itself too seriously for me to appreciate the poignant concept of who gets to define/decide one's identity.

Sometimes we forget why we watch movies.

I will not give any spoilers but I loved this movie. The acting of the entire cast and the overall direction is top notch. It's a well made movie and it has absolutely nothing to do with politics, unlike some of the other reviews here speaking so otherwise. Do not be misled.

This movie is about finding your footing in life; and accepting, believing and following what your heart wishes/desires for. Not to become a slave to worldly expectations and conformity. For some reason, it reminded me of The Lobster, but there is no similarity between the movies as such.

About an ever so alive and kicking DSM syndrome, a story taken outta the sensitive and dark realms of psychiatry called species identity disorder, a syndrome that has boosted off as us human have been more and more urbanized, my wild guess is that 1 outta 25 of the population in these neighbourhoods do have one or many symptoms that fullfills the dsm-criteria, i myself have always connected myself as being a fish, but what that means to you and everybody around i shall not elaborate any further.

Its a strong but highly exaggerated story about a bunch of kids living their lives as animals, and the clinical attack is just full of c..p, the main male actor though, does a fine prescence, hes a well trained howler and has done this in films in the past. Even though the cast is acting pretty good, youre never taking a deepdive into their ppersonas and storybuild up, they are just there due to their animosity of being an animal. Its really a film that couldve jolted the world with its claws, but slow plot drive and a script that is barren on nutrients do scather its image.

As well as story telling comes some of the weakest film endings ive seen for many years, yes , just an inch more of effort couldve been used, and the result wouldve made storm in a glass of water. Medicine/pills - couldve enchanted the outcome of a story like this, therefore i say, make the end over again its just howling bad.

But if you love your inner animal, if you love to watch movies with a mind rustling topic, and loves to soak yourself into the dreadiest dreadfullness of human behaviour, then its a recommend from the fishshell exematious grumpy old man.

What a joke that this film wants to be taken seriously. Do yourself a favor & skip it.

This movie is unique and i kinda love it!

Just need more if it. 1hr and 40-something minutes is too short! Massive second-hand embarrassment tho.. i can't when they act like animals.. but i like the Jacob the wolf and Rufus the dog.. This movie is best to watch alone haha because of the secondhand embarrassment 🤣

Love love love George Mackay performance in this!