|
(011824) A last-minute director switch of Mark Romanek to Joe Johnston
only 2-3 weeks before the beginning of principal production, three release date
changes precipitated by reshoots and new visual effects, a new editor (Walter
Murch) to reedit the film, and a double switch in composers (from Danny Elfman
to another composer and back again to Elfman), all but doomed "The Wolfman," the
big-screen remake of the 1941 Universal classic, to box office and critical
failure. Call it, like the central, tragic character, “cursed,” but all the
tinkering and re-tinkering has done nothing to elevate "The Wolfman" above the
grim, murky, muddled, inert, unsatisfying result Universal executives (probably)
recognized when postponed the release date several times.
Based on the 1941 Universal horror classic that introduced Lon Chaney, Jr., as
the titular Wolfman, the remake takes the story back roughly half a century to
Victorian England, 1891 to be exact, replacing Chaney, Jr. with Benicio Del Toro
in the role of Lawrence Talbot, the “prodigal son” of a wealthy British family
headed by Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins). A well-regarded, well-traveled
actor estranged from his father (due, we find out later, to a traumatic event in
Lawrence’s childhood), Lawrence only returns home when he receives a letter from
his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt). Lawrence’s brother, Ben
(Simon Merrells), has disappeared without a trace.
Lawrence arrives at the estate, eager to help in finding Ben, but he’s too late.
Searchers find Ben’s mangled body in a ravine, killed by a wild beast or a
madman. Warned by his father not to venture outside during a full moon, a
stubborn, recalcitrant Lawrence does exactly that, visiting a nearby gypsy
encampment to find out more about his brother’s past. Xenophobic villagers also
arrive at the encampment, blaming the gypsies’ dancing bear for Ben’s murder
(and the murder of two other men). He arrives only minutes before the beast, a
werewolf, attacks the encampment, indiscriminately slaughtering gypsies and
villagers alike, and almost killing Lawrence.
The gypsies return an injured Lawrence back to the Talbot estate where Gwen
tends to him as he recovers. A near-miraculous recovery, however, leads the
villagers, including the parish priest, Reverend Fisk (Roger Frost), to suspect
Lawrence of lycanthropy. Only the senior Talbot’s timely intervention saves
Lawrence, but once the full moon arrives, the villagers are proven right and
Lawrence-as-the-Wolfman goes on a killing spree. A Scotland Yard detective,
Francis Aberline (Hugo Weaving), arrives in the village, hoping to apprehend or
otherwise stop the murderer. Loosely based on the Scotland Yard detective that
investigated the Jack the Ripper murders in London, Aberline is a classic
example of a rational man faced with the irrational. He doesn’t believe in the
supernatural, only the natural world, but his encounter with a transformed
Lawrence radically changes his worldview.
Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow, 8MM, Se7en) and David Self (Road to
Perdition, Thirteen Days, The Haunting) screenplay follows the general plot
points and turns in Curt Siodmak’s original script, with a few key differences:
magnifying the romantic subplot to add pathos and, presumably, increase
demographic appeal; making the Aberline an important secondary character; a
different reveal for the identity of the original werewolf/Wolfman; thanks to
the reshoots and more production time, additional screen time for the Wolfman in
the latter half of the film; and adds a climactic (if clichéd) fight between
Wolfman I and Wolfman II (the better to make Lawrence more a more heroic, less
tragic figure). The Wolfman also gives audiences a sequel-ready ending, but
that’s being overly optimistic on Universal’s part.
With Johnston (the upcoming "Captain
America: 1st Avenger," "Jurassic Part
III," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "The Rocketeer") coming in only three weeks
before principal photography, he obviously didn’t have a chance to rework the
screenplay to his liking, but instead focused on post-production (and reshoots)
to fill in gaps and, presumably, add tautness and tension. At least that was the
goal. What Johnston ultimately delivered with the help of editor Walter Murch,
production designer Rick Heinrichs, cinematographer Shelly Johnson, makeup
artist Rick Baker (who based the Wolfman’s design on Jack Pierce’s makeup for
the original film) and composer Danny Elfman is a dark (as in underlit dark),
dramatically inert romantic tragedy/horror film that sadly will please neither
genre fans or casual moviegoers.
|
