Wolf had its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, 2021. It had a limited theatre release in the United States on December 3, 2021, by Focus Features. The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised the performances of MacKay, Depp, and Considine, but criticized Biancheri's script and direction.
Plot
A boy named Jacob who suffers from zoanthropy,[5] believing he is a wolf, is committed to a mental asylum following an attack on his brother. There he meets and befriends the other patients, who also believe themselves to be animals, including Rufus, who believes he is a German Shepherd. He forms a close bond with Cecile, an enigmatic patient nicknamed "Wildcat", and together they roam the hallways at night. After witnessing the brutal methods of treatment performed by the vicious, sociopathic and mentally unstable head of the asylum, Dr. Mann, the Zookeeper, Jacob becomes frustrated and attacks an orderly, resulting in him being caged and gagged. Cecile sneaks into the room where he is caged one night and makes love to him, but they are caught by Dr Angeli and Jacob is punished with a cattle prod, causing the other patients to lash out at the Zookeeper. Disgusted by Zookeeper and Angeli, Cecile frees Jacob from his cage, allowing him to escape into the forest where he can live in freedom as a wolf.
In the United States and Canada, the film earned $82,640 from 308 theaters in its opening weekend and $15,160 in its second before ending its theatrical run.[15][16]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Despite George MacKay's best efforts, Wolf remains a horror-tinged social allegory that's left to largely chase its own tail."[17] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 52 based on 15 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18]
