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The Company of Wolves(1984)d. Neil Jordan

The Company of Wolves, directed by Neil Jordan, takes the classic fairy tale of Red Riding Hood

and throws a whole new subtext onto the story. Most of the film

takes place in the dream of a young girl and follows as she

battles with her subconscious urges. The main dream follows

the Red Riding Hood plot with the sleeping girl, Rosaleen

(Sarah Patterson), wearing the cape but within are more stories

with the similar theme of wolves that are hairy on the

inside(The Company of Wolves, 1984).

The film opens in contemporary time. Rosaleen s roomis filled with childrens toys all of which, when entered into her

dream, seem to be haunting her. A symbol of her childhood

repressing her adolescent urges. Rosaleen struggles as she is

on the peak of sexually maturity. The dream explores her

desires, her fears and her reservations about being thrust into

adulthood. Jordan uses the audiences presumed knowledge of

werewolves to his advantage as they are a metaphor for male

sexuality as well as her own. Eric Miller, who writes for

ClassicHorror.com, saidShe allows herself to become a werewolf, symbolically shedding her

childhood skin and becoming a full grown woman(Eric Miller, 2009) as indeed at the end of the film

she embraces the transformation rather than letting it defeat her.

The short folk tales told within the

dream told by Rosaleens batty Grandmother

(Angelia Lansbury) and by Rosaleen herself

depict her fears of adulthood. All these stories

having been told to Rosaleen shows thatperhaps her fears have been impressed upon

her by the people around her and not from

her own first hand experience. They are ripe

with the bizarre of fantasy and so seem even

less plausible then the main dream. As, again,

Eric Miller writes Granny, and to a lesser extent Rosaleen's parents, are constantly trying to keep

her on the path, to keep her from becoming tempted by the fearful yet attractive things in the forest.

(Eric Miller, 2009). It could be said that this symbolises her adolescent rebelling nature to not heed

the warnings of her elders, in this case her grandmother.

Figure 1 - Film Poster

Figure 2 - Curious in the Forest.

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Jordan uses a lot of symbolic animal throughout the film that sub-consciously remind the

audience of certain characteristics they associate with that animal. Rosaleens path through the

forest, the path being a metaphor for her temptations, is littered with these animals. Vincent Canby,

of the New York Times, wrote about the forest as beingstocked with trees that turn into houses,

toads that are life- size but toadstools that are 12 feet tall, plus rats, snakes, owls and wolves -

dozens of them, many disguised as men(Vincent Canby, 1985). If Rosaleen strays off the path she

could fall victim to these animals which illustrates Rosaleens fear of men. Yet as the film

progresses she becomes more curious particularly when in the wood with the amorous boy (Shane

Johnstone) Rosaleen strays off the path completely. As Louise Watson writes It is this push-pull

fear and fascination with sexuality that is the heart of the film (Louise Watson, 2003) it watches

Rosaleen discover the world of women-hood with all the fears and natural urges that includes.

Figure 3 - Stranger in the Forest

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List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Film Poster. (1984) From: The Company of Wolves. Directed by: Neil Jordan [film poster] UK: ITC

and Palace Pictures.

Figure 2. Curious in the Forest. (1984) From: The Company of Wolves. Directed by: Neil Jordan [film poster]

UK: ITC and Palace Pictures.

Figure 3. Stranger in the Forest. (1984) From: The Company of Wolves. Directed by: Neil Jordan [film poster]

UK: ITC and Palace Pictures.

Bibliography

The Company of Wolves, (1984) Directed by Neil Jordan [Film] UK: ITC and Palace Pictures.

Miller, E. (2009) the Company of Wolves (1984) Review. On: Classic-Horror.com [online]

http://classic-horror.com/reviews/company_of_wolves_1984

Canby, V. (1985) Film: Red Riding Hood in Company of Wolves. In: New York Times [online]

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802EFD91138F93AA25757C0A963948260

Watson, L. (2003) the Company of Wolves (1984) Review. On: Screen Online [online]

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/515281/

http://classic-horror.com/reviews/company_of_wolves_1984http://classic-horror.com/reviews/company_of_wolves_1984http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802EFD91138F93AA25757C0A963948260http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802EFD91138F93AA25757C0A963948260http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/515281/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/515281/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/515281/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802EFD91138F93AA25757C0A963948260http://classic-horror.com/reviews/company_of_wolves_1984