The Wolf, the Fox and the Leopard
Introduction
There are many ways to interpret the English film The Wolf, The Fox And The Leopard. One could be a coming of age story of a human coming to terms with living amidst its clan. The second could be the life cycle of a human with regards to its evolution. But the third remains a more deep rooted social and political commentary that laces the narrative with respect to its unnamed protagonist (a brilliant Jessica Reynolds). When you are first introduced to the feral girl, the setting remains that of the deepest end of the woods in a cave surrounded by a pack of wolves. In many ways, the young girl remains a part of the pack, having being brought up by the wolves and completely cut off from the human race. As a result, your first impressions of her include her gibberish speech that automatically makes language a barrier to begin with. You also spot her ripping off and biting into chunks of raw meat, just while being circled and hounded by a group of humans who intrude her habitat. And thus, the political and social undertones in the drama kickstart, even as the proceedings transition into a sprawling dystopian drama.
Story & Screenplay
The introduction of humans in The Wolf The Fox and The Leopard has a deeper connotation here with respect to its symbolism. It marks an intrusive habit that snowballs into a selfish need, as opposed to allowing biodiversity to survive and thrive in its own habitat. Here, it hardly comes as a surprise that the protagonist finds herself entrapped in a laboratory, with multiple tests being conducted on her. It a midst of things, you see a fleeting exchange between a doctor who is seemingly empathetic towards her, all in order for the protagonist to acclimatize to her new surroundings. The setting almost resembles a little baby brought to this world while seemingly being confused with the alien surroundings around it. But this is when The Fox and the Leopard make their way in the narrative.
In a sedate set of events, you witness an extremist couple kidnap the protagonist and take her to an oil rig, which is to soon become here new home. The protagonist is given a name The One, as a part of a metaphor for the last hope to mankind who remains uncorrupted from the touch of humans and the surroundings, even as she learns of the existence of two humans which she refers to as Father (Nicholas Pinnock) and Mother (Marie Jung). In a way, the setting of an oil rig isn’t seemingly different from the setting of the woods wherein The One was initially raised. The rig in the middle of the ocean is also symbolic of her systemic cut-off from the human race, while having a bare-minimum impact on her sensibilities. For instance, she mildly begins to speak the language (in this case English) that humans around her are accustomed to.
One of the symbolisms with respect to the title of the drama is initiated against the backdrop of a climate crisis that has supposedly been prevalent. It is almost a metaphor for three misfits having to survive together in the last of their habitual setting, with different traits that each one brings to the table. While The Wolf (The One) is a team player and a quick learner to the new environment, the leopard (the father) represents someone who has a large heart (for a fight) but is equally empathetic. The fox (the mother) on the other hand, is vily and longs for that one opportunity to strike, thus complicating the dynamics between the three. Hence, even the presence of another human complicates the dynamics between the three – with the one imbibing traits of humans that were hidden from her (namely the greyer traits of deceit, betrayal and even intimacy), leading to a further conflict.
The final act brings about a further change in the environment with The One now transitioning to Alice, a simpleton working as a cashier in a store. You see her behave and talk exactly like other humans, almost blending seamlessly into the environment that was once alien to her. It almost completes a life circle of sorts, that actively answers questions related to adaptability for Alice. But because she is seemingly programmed to behave in a certain way, the idea of individuality is lost here, something that further results in being awkward while being proposed by a character. Yet, this is a passage that remains the most political with respect to its commentary.
The social and political commentary in the final act overlap, in a way as to treat the vested interests of humans as a single entity. It is to say that humans are grey with vested interests that include deceit and betrayal, two traits that directly counters the naivety and innocence of Alice (much like most of us too). The underlying emotion remains of being used by either the society or politicians, just so the public is programmed to think and act in a certain way without being encouraged to ask questions. And that is the searing question that the drama asks its viewers? Is it indeed better to live as animals while relying on gut that transitions into binary emotions which are devoid of deceit?
Here, I must add that a particular action by a character was an interesting one but immediately countered in the very next scene, to skew the messaging for me. The idea of being on the fence did slightly lower the impact of the drama, as opposed to allowing the character to take the idea forward with a similar entity in a similar setting just like Alice was once pulled up from. But barring that, the screenplay has a dystopian touch to it, and makes for a pretty solid watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are particularly reflective of the sprawling dystopian environment, that creates an atmosphere of intrigue through the exchanges of lines. The sound design exudes of an eerie presence that contributes to the ambience and atmosphere of the drama. The cinematography comprises of frames that are breath-taking in many ways. Also, the frames involving the shifting sands of the setting, add three distinct flavours and textures to the drama while contributing to the dystopian world really well. The editing is razor sharp while actively accomodating a lot of information in a drama spanning just a shade above 2 hours, which was quite an achievement. Director David Verbeek boldly creates an unhinged drama while willing to stay committed to the unwavering gaze of its protagonist that makes for a solid impact. Because the gaze remains innocent and curious, the dystopian world seemed all the more haunting and threatening, even with respect to the ambience. And here, the director definitely leaves his stamp of authority while leaving a lasting impression.
Performances
The performances are remarkable by the members of the cast. San Shella, Eoin Duffy and Lucas Lynggaard are sincere and each of these characters brings a special dimension in the drama, at three different instances that adds to the texture of the proceedings. Naomi Kawasi is an interesting character that has deceptive looks, while leaving a lasting impression despite a limited screentime. Nicholas Pinnock remains a flawed character who is empathetic in parts but also blinded in the sinful needs of the human body. And he portrays this vulnerability in a searing manner thereby putting forth a commendable act. Marie Jung is a shifty character, quite vile and assertive in her outlook towards the world. She wishes to impose her extremist worldviews onto her ‘daughter’, which is again acts as an opposing dimension to the same argument of autocracy. There are moments of vulnerability and hopelessness too, but her character epitomizing the fox was played to perfection by her.
Jessica Reynolds remained the soul of the drama here. The metric of her act can be deduced from the fact that this could so easily have been a caricature, given the nature of her lines that she had to work with. But she internalized the pains and angst of her character beautifully, while using her body language and expressions to such good effect. This resulted in her character being a standout in terms of performance, wherein she accounts for a brilliantly lasting impact.
Conclusion
As a part of our Tribeca Film Festival coverage, The Wolf, The Fox And The Leopard is a sprawling dystopian drama with relevant social and political undertones that accounts for a pretty solid watch.
