THE WOLF HOUR: The Insanity Within Art

Paranoia and claustrophobia are a hot ticket throughout many of today’s cinematic thrillers, each avenue creating different takes and perspectives. Each creating new and intriguing characters. Where others have faltered, many rise to the occasion. In The Wolf Hour, director and writer Alistair Banks Griffin‘s take on a young agoraphobic woman in the crescendoing height of summer, chaos flounders, yet delivers audiences with a thriller that is sure to satisfy.

Hour by Hour

It is the summer of 1977, a back drop to a pivotal time in New York. Record breaking heat, social imbalance and a serial killer on the loose (later know as Son of Sam) have all culminated through the streets of New York and its boroughs. Terror grips a neighborhood and a community, all which June (Naomi Watts) can watch from the “safety” of her apartment.

June herself is confined to her apartment, a debilitating case of agoraphobia keeping her trapped both body and mind. While her days seem to come and go without incident, the city is forever threatening to barge in, forever changing the predictable lifestyle she lives. Yet, as the summer of 1977 swells into chaos and disaster, June finds that her safety is forever fleeting – and loneliness can be one of the most dangerous aspects of life.

From Behind the Lens

While there is a solid story and a quiet conclusion, what viewers will find themselves wishing for is a faster pace. There is a tension and an unease The Wolf Hour creates as it drags on, never allowing viewers to truly know where the film is going. Yet, after awhile, this dragging looses some of its appeal, many finding they just want to get to the end. Even during the film’s climax, it is overly calculated to draw out the tension, the confusion and the “what happens” next. While not detrimental to the film, its hangs over much of it, a dark mark the film will not easily let viewers forget.

Yet, while The Wolf Hour does drag, there was plenty to appreciate during the film’s run time. There is a thickness that seeps from the screen much like the humidity stifling the setting and characters, connecting viewers with the story, heightening the intensity, increasing this need for the film to move along. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. Yet, this feeling truly connects audiences, placing them in the time, in the environment.

The film itself is dark, dismal, old, dingy – yet so is the lightening that illuminates the set and its central character – the musty yellow blanketing the room, mixing with a thick air to heighten the feeling of immense heat. The set is a tightly enclosed space, limited movement allowed, the clutter within only making it further limited. While others would find the heat and the limitations unbearable, for June it continues to be a security blanket she can not break free from. The neighborhood threatens to encroach on her, yet the only intruder that ever truly gets in is the stifling heat. Fear may riddle her body, yet she never truly has to embrace it as long as she doesn’t leave the apartment.

It was interesting to have the film set to the backdrop of 1977 New York in the south Bronx, in the middle of a heat wave, a crumbling city landscape and a serial killer. There is a pot brewing and she has a front row view. The Hitchc*ckian vibe of voyeurism is a perfect application to shape the structure of the film, everything is seen from the windows of June’s apartment, limiting her scope, digging her fear deeper of the outside world.

The Wolf Hour functions on the shoulders of a small and limited cast, many going in and out of the film as quickly as they came. Though the film’s success rest solely on the shoulders of its leading lady Naomi Watts. She is a strong and confident lead, allowing her mind to questionably fall into madness. There are moments when she disappears into the character, all of her previous work forgotten. Viewers are left only with June, every molecule in her body visible on high alert, anxiety and mental illness alienating her from the world. To date, this has been one of my favorite Watts performances – statement I think many will agree with.

Insanity a Prerequisite of Artistic Success

Mental illness is clearly read through each element of The Wolf Hour. From the moment the film begins, viewers will quickly understand the depths of June’s agoraphobia – understanding later the hostile nature and paranoia that accompany it. While the reason for her self seclusion is not immediately apparent, you will find yourself clinging to the reality of her mental state – she can not leave the house.

Many elements throughout the film leave questions lingering in the air, answers hidden just beneath the surface. There is a parallelism between the city melting into chaos and the degrading state of her mind as the film continues, each of these unknowns adding layers to her mentality.

“This thing is all in your head”, her sister exclaims to her, negating every fiber of her body that is telling her to stay in the apartment. Is she going crazy? Has she already? You find yourself questioning what is real and what isn’t real. Her interactions with characters are limited to a two person dialogue – no one enters or interacts – the store owner she calls the only outside being that seems to validate anything round her (or does he?). Is the buzzer that rings night and day real? Is Margo real? Or are they figments of her imagination shaped by the individuals passing by her window day in and day out?

When you ask whether this is real or not, it is a hard question to tackle, as you have to look from different perspectives. The film challenges viewers to break their restricted perspective, and that of the character’s, and look larger, look wider. Whether we perceive this as real or not, and whether she does herself – in her mind this IS real. It forces viewers to be both the critic, willing her to leave because the things she fears is not real, yet at the same time, it forces viewers to be sympathetic, to understand the world she has immersed herself in.

The buzzing which drives her into madness begins to transform for viewers as well, the constant buzzing cutting through the silence, interrupting. It becomes like the dreaded nails on chalk board, sending chills down you spine. Over time, each time you hear it, you find yourself unraveling a bit more, yearning for it to end and further creating sympathy.

Yet, where the film seems to speak to mental illness, it also speaks to the inspiration of art. To create art, does one need to be insane, to experience insanity? Many artists have lost themselves to their art, whether it be through death, drugs, or decay of mental health. How much does one need to loose themselves for the creativity to take their place? And can you ever truly come back from it? It is an interesting question that the film proposes, lending its question of what is real and not real to the inspiration and creativity of the artists we find ourselves enamored with.

Conclusion: The Wolf Hour

While the film may lose a few along the way due to is drawn out pace,  many will find themselves enthralled with what The Wolf Hour has to offer. There is so much to take away from the film, it has the potential for each viewer to take something completely different away. While you may not need to rush out to the theaters for this one, it is definitely one that deserves a chance.

Have you seen The Wold Hour? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

The Wolf Hour is released in theaters in the US on December 6, 2019. For all international release dates, see here.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=zOmAEZGEWFw