SXSW 2018: Wildling Review – A Fresh and Mature Take on Werewolves
Starring Bel Powley, Liv Tyler, Brad Dourif, Collin Kelly-Sordelet
Written by Fritz Böhm and Florian Eder
Directed by Fritz Böhm
Wildling follows Anna (Powley) who was raised in captivity by her “daddy” (Dourif), only to be thrust into the real world as a young woman with no concept or preparation for anything she sees or experiences, both in her surroundings and within her own body. Staying with Sheriff Ellen Cooper (Tyler) and her younger brother Ray (Kelly-Sordelet), Anna must acclimate in short time to the expectations of those around her, making this coming-of-age tale difficult because she is at such a disadvantage. However, we quickly learn that Anna is no ordinary person in that she is not a person at all: she is a Wildling, a werewolf-like creature whose transformation was being held back by Dourif’s injections.
What makes Wildling so interesting is how the transformation of Powley into the titular character twists the traditional werewolf mechanism into a metaphor for Anna’s own metamorphosis from a young girl into a formidable and entirely capable, albeit not human, woman. That the men of the small town that this film takes place in see this as a threat is not a subtlety that is meant to be passed over. Even in her innocence, Anna does not succumb to the demands and pressures of those around her, fending off a near rape by a local high school boy and standing up to her “daddy” as she realizes her own self worth.
Powley plays her role with charming confused innocence while Tyler plays the mother to Dourif’s “daddy”. She takes on the role of helping teach Anna what being a young woman is all about, from buying her tampons to giving her advice on what kinds of boys to avoid. Dourif, while always darkly charismatic and captivating, pulls deep into his acting chops for this role, bringing a nuanced representation of patriarchal control coupled with an inability to understand his “daughter” and her needs.
Beautifully filmed by Toby Oliver (Get Out, Insidious: The Last Key), Wildling immerses viewers in an almost fairy tale-like world. The town feels like a secluded berg while the surrounding forest teems with life and a magical air hovers in its branches. That being said, the film sometimes gets a bit too dark to see properly and the music is largely forgettable. Still, those minor complaints aside, Wildling is a wonderfully fresh take on what the werewolf subgenre has to offer.
Summary
Wildling takes traditional the werewolf transformation mechanism and uses it as the foundation for a more immediate and relatable story, one that will especially resonate with female audiences.
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