Dir. Neil Jordan, UK/US, 1984, 95 mins
Cast: Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese, Tusse Silberg, Brian Glover
A long overdue DVD release for this modern interpretation of the ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ story, the second feature from Neil Jordan, and based on two short stories by the feminist and fantasy writer, Angela Carter, who here co-scripts, along with the director.
In a loosely structured tale which merges real life with the fantastic imagery of fairy tales and dreams, a pubescent young girl, Rosaleen (Patterson) stays with her Grandmother (Lansbury), following the strange death of her sister, Alice. Granny is full of cautionary tales that begin “Once upon a time…” and warn of men with eyebrows that meet and who are hairy on the inside; stories that contain the moral “don’t stray from the path”. The Grandmother takes us on journeys that see a witch cursing a wedding party and turning them all into long-snouted wolves, still draped in all their finery, or a young woman’s missing husband reappearing at her log cabin many years later, and horribly showing her what he is really like on the inside. As she spins her yarns, Granny spins her wool – a red thread that she is knitting into a red shawl for Rosaleen, to protect her from the dangers of the big bad world and the big bad wolf.
The question is, how much does Rosaleen want to be protected? The whole film is stunning visual allegory for the sexual awakening of a young girl, with white symbolising purity and red both nascent passion and the onset of menstruation. At the beginning of the film, when questioned as to the whereabouts of her sister, Alice replies: “She said she had a tummy ache”, and we see a pure white dress hanging from Rosaleen’s door and then next swaying from the gnarled branches in the danger-filled forest. Such metaphors permeate the film; the lipstick Rosaleen finds in the bird’s nest, the red apples that signify temptation, even Rosaleen’s name suggests a rose about to bloom.
However, whilst the reading of the film is most evidently a Freudian’s dream, the sheer opulence of the exquisite art direction, and the underlying sense of menace that lurks beneath this subverted traditional fairytale, makes viewing the film a most rewarding pleasure. The delicious gothic macabre of the rich night time forest, with its twisted trees and paths, swirling mists and omniscient full moon, all evoke enchantment, a heightened reality as if the canvas of one of the great romantic painters had suddenly sprung to life.
Whilst we realise the horror aspect – the ever present danger that there are werewolves at large in the forest – is merely a device for the theme, it is nevertheless chilling and, by and large, the special effects have held up well in the ensuing years, and the shock and gore aspects are truly gripping.
The film’s denouement, which sees Rosaleen straying from the path and meeting a Huntsman (Bergese), is most satisfying and lyrical and, strangely, oddly reassuring. As Rosaleen tells the tale of the wounded wolf, we see a white rose turn red as it fills with blood and then blooms. The film seems not to be not so much a cautionary fable but a rites of passage movie. Beautiful, poetic, it ultimately nudges the subconscious and plays on primal fears, making it an all-round pleasurable experience for the average discerning film lover.
Jean Lynch
The Special Edition of The Company of Wolves is available to buy at £19.99 with special features including a commentary by director Neil Jordan, theatrical trailer, stills gallery and a behind-the-scenes definitive guide
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