Wolf (2021 film)

Wolf is a 2021 psychological drama film written and directed by Nathalie Biancheri. An international co-production of Ireland and Poland, it stars George MacKay, Lily-Rose Depp, Paddy Considine, Eileen Walsh, Fionn O'Shea and Lola Petticrew.

Wolf had its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on 17 September 2021. It had a limited theatre release in the United States on 3 December 2021, by Focus Features.

Plot
A boy named Jacob who has species dysphoria believing he's a wolf, is commited to a mental asylum following an attack on his brother. There he meets and befriends the other patients, who also believe themselves to be animals. He forms a close bond with the enigmatic patient, Cecile/ Wildcat, and together they roam the hallways at night. Over the course of the stay, the head of the asylum, the Zookeeper, forces patients to do dangerous animal activities unless they renounce their animal-hood. This includes forcing Jeremy to climb a tree like a squirrel making one of his nails break off and having Judith pushed out a window which she escapes by saying she's a girl. When an orderly is pushing around Ivan for acting like a duck, Jacob becomes frustrated and attacks him, resulting in him being caged and gagged. Wildcat sneaks into his cage one night and makes love to him, but they are caught by a nurse and Jacob is punished with a cattle prod. Patients upstairs overhear his screams over music likely meant to cover them up which causes them to retaliate by destroying the park scene and embracing their animal behavior. Disgusted by Zookeeper and the Nurse, Cecile frees Jacob from his cage, allowing him to escape into the forest.

Cast/ Characters

 * Patients
 * George MacKay as Jacob/ Wolf: The new arrival who sneaks out at night to act like a wolf.
 * Lily-Rose Depp as Cecile/ Wildcat: A long time patient who has "connections" and keys to various locks and doors in the asylum.
 * Fionn O'Shea as Rufus/ German Shepherd
 * Darragh Shannon as Jeremy/ Squirrel
 * Lola Petticrew as Judith/ Parrot
 * Senan Jennings as Ivan/ Duck
 * Elsa Fionuir as Louise/ Horse
 * Amy Macken as Ola/ Spider
 * Karise Yansen as Annalisa/ Panda
 * Terry Notary as Lion Man: An man who turned lion-like after being forced to cannablize others on a raft. He terrorized villagers before being brought to the asylum to stay forever.
 * Staff
 * Paddy Considine as Mr. Mann/ Zookeeper: The abusive leader of the institution.
 * Eileen Walsh as Dr. Angeli
 * Martin McCann as Dr. Sullivan
 * Family
 * Stuart Graham as Jacob's father
 * Helen Behan as Jacob's mother
 * Jacob's brother (mentioned)
 * Shelley Atkinson as Squirrel's mother
 * Mary-lou McCarthy as German Sheperd's mother
 * Grey Glaister as Animal Thrower: A vandalizer who throws a dead dog into the building through the window among all the animal people.

Comparison to other versions

 * The Island of Doctor Moreau: There's a story of people on a raft resolving to resort to cannabilism. The lone survivor is brought before a man trying to squash the animal nature out of individuals.
 * The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film): The Andrew Prendick character is turned into a beast person themselves. The main character is locked in a cage for being a peast person.

By topic


 * Unlike the other versions which include animals being turned into humans physically and psychologically against their nature. Wolf (2021) has people believing themselves animals trapped in human bodies making their lack of physical change, against their nature and their turning into humans, only a psychological challenge.