At the Movies with Fatwayne

If you have a few years on you or if you have seen the original 1941 film which starred Lon Chaney, Jr., you must remember what the old gypsy woman told Larry Talbot. If not, here it comes: Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright! This film remains basically true to the original in concept but there are a few news twists added to keep us interested.
For me, the beauty of this film was the countryside and sets used to bring us to 1880 London surrounds and the Victorian village of Blackmoor. This coupled with the costuming and attention to detail really works down to the beveled glass windows of the carriages. There are some positively thrilling shots to behold of London as seen from the rooftops through the eyes of the wolfman replete with, of course, a brilliant full moon. That was the beauty of this film, the beast is the gore which is depicted in great detail and I must tell you that the wolfman is a very sloppy eater!

Once again, Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) falls victim to the curse of the werewolf when he is bitten but does not die. He is saved by a very savy gypsy woman who may or may not be doing him a favor. He has come home to the palatial Talbot family manor to solve the mystery of his brother’s death. Here he reunites with his father, Sir John  Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) with whom he has been estranged for many years. Lawrence is a gentle man who is pure of heart but when the full moon rises all bets are off!

The CGIs are very good and it hurts to see a man turn into a wolfman even if it’s only a movie. There was only one scene that did not live up to the standards set by this film and you could tell that it was a generated background. Other that that, it was super! As mentioned, the film was set in the 1880′s and it was disturbing to see the state of medicine at that stage in history. Lawrence is committed to a mental asylum and subjected to “state of the art treatment” for the times but could only be termed barbaric by today’s standards.

We all know that there can be no happy ending for our unfortunately hairy hero. Despite this knowledge there are several plot lines that will keep you interested. Be sure to look out for Hugo Weaving who plays Scotland Yard Detective Francis Aberline. You will remember him as Agent Smith from the Matrix movies and many others. His unmistakable voice and physical presence adds much to this film.

With a little more TLC perhaps the werewolf could become as popular as vampires have of late. I can imagine a tender love scene set around Valentines Day when the wolfman’s significant other presents him with a brand new Gillette razor! I hope she remembers to give him lots of extra blades! He’ll need them!

Quotes  -  http://www.tvmoviequotes.com/thewolfman.htm

Rated  -R -

Fatwayne’s Rating   -    -