Wolves is a little independent, gritty coming of age film that I seemed to enjoy more than most critics. Anthony, a popular high school basketball star, does not act like he is on top of the world. He senses that life outside of high school will require more if he wants to succeed and go to Cornell. The men around him are envious that he is on the threshold of great opportunity and use the excuse that he needs to toughen up to inflict physical abuse. His parents’ lifestyle does not match their resources. Hearing the words that he is “like his father” are a curse, not an observation. He is looking for a man who can show him how to make the transition into real life and does not have an agenda to sabotage or exploit him, but ultimately must decide what kind of man he will become.
Wolves got my attention because I love Michael Shannon, an American treasure, and Carla Gugino, who does not get enough respect and work. Shannon never plays a bad guy the same way. In this film, he plays a large man in certain settings then shrinks in others, nervously clutching his leather briefcase. Gugino nails the mother who still believes that the right words will fix the situation, but her eyes betray her certainty that they won’t. The two superficially seem like good parents, but it does not take long to realize that they never figured out how to do the job and got lucky despite their neglect and abuse.
The narrative and Taylor John Smith’s acting really convey what kind of person Anthony is by showing us. Anthony rarely talks, which angers his father, who derisively calls him “Saint Anthony.” Anthony is a good kid, but a largely helpless one. Even though I am a sports atheist, Anthony displays a breathtakingly moment of generosity and risk during a crucial point in the game when the Cornell coach is present. The high school coach chides his good nature because his job depends on the team’s performance. Wolves does have a tendency to belabor these turning points for these characters and is a bit too meta, but it works when the Cornell coach asks him if he is the kind of player who gets big, i.e. is willing to standout and face adversity, or gets small to avoid difficulty. Will he be Ant?
Anthony knows that his friends don’t understand his situation. He can’t trust other older men who are oddly invested in his future and subconsciously want to hurt him to feel better about themselves. I think Anthony’s wariness of those around him lends credibility to why he would engage this random guy. The way that Anthony circles his future mentor early in the film before the viewer realizes what he is doing negates the magical Negro quality a smidge. His mentor’s brusque manner is anything, but gentle. He definitely had a life before Anthony appeared and will long after Anthony goes to college. When the mentoring is not as inspirational as he expects, it makes sense that when things gets worse in unexpected ways, he becomes unmoored and acts like a stupid teenager.
I’m glad that Wolves did not take predictable soap opera twist by having the debt collectors hurt Anthony, but the denouement is a bit predictable, ridiculous and absurd. If it was dangerous in the doctor’s office, it would be deadly in a locker room. I need someone to explain Charlie, played by the magnificent Chris Bauer, to me. He seems like a genuinely nice guy who cares about the family, but he ignores the wife’s condition to bailing her husband out. Did she stutter? I know that no one can stop a grown man from doing what he wants, but Charlie didn’t have to help him. Is he just trying to get another shot with the wife? He seems to understand that is not an option. He later acts horrified by the husband’s behavior as if he had nothing to do with it. While I appreciate that Wolves does not treat their audience like idiots, sometimes moments like that would occur, and I just did not get it. People are messy and confusing like that so maybe the problem isn’t with the writing, but human nature, which the movie captures.
Zazie Beetz plays Anthony’s girlfriend, and her profile has risen considerably after the release of Wolves. I did not know that the director and writer, Bart Freundlich, is Julianne Moore’s husband until after I watched the movie. It is quite depressing to think that his movie accurately captures a generational legacy of father’s jealous of their son’s abilities and futures, and older men wounding boys because that is how they were taught. There has to be a better way to make men.