I, like many other people, have often looked at a pet and become jealous of their lifestyle. Seeing a cat or dog contentedly lazing around during the day, knowing they will always have food and water available for them when they want it, really hammers home how difficult we humans have made our own lives. I’ve never looked at a wolf and felt the urge to have sex with it though. That isn’t normally a statement I would make, but that literal animal attraction is at the heart of Wild.
Lilith Stangenberg plays Ania, a young woman who seems to be stuck in a rut. Her job, her personal life, even her housing situation, it all seems one step away from being a complete disaster. Her mental state changes one night when she makes eye contact with a wolf, a creature she then becomes more and more obsessed with. Wanting to catch, and possibly tame, the wolf, Ania comes up with a plan, and it may well help her to connect with her more animalistic side. That’s only a good thing if she can use it to her advantage though, but it soon becomes obvious that she’s just going to use it as a way to regress and pull away from others.
Written and directed by Nicolette Krebitz, Wild is an uncomfortable and intriguing viewing experience. Every scene that features the wolf feels more inherently dangerous, and watching the journey of the central character is sometimes painful and disturbing, with Krebitz somehow helping us to remember how the worsening behaviour stems from the desperation and loneliness of Ania.
Stangenberg gives a fantastic performance, particularly in the second half, when her character is less fearful of others around her, but also more desperate to attain whatever improved “final form” she thinks is within her grasp. Georg Friedrich also does well, whether his character is being shown as cool, understanding, or inappropriately reacting to someone in a very vulnerable state. One or two others also do well in supporting roles, including Saskia Rosendahl and Silke Bodenbender, but the film fully belongs to Stangenberg and the wolf.
Would I rush to recommend this to people? No. I don’t know how others would react to it, particularly in the one or two scenes that push the whole thing even further into taboo territory. But I do hope that others are intrigued enough to check it out for themselves, if they think they can stomach it. It’s dark, disturbing, smart, and brilliant. I just don’t want to get funny looks from people who are unprepared for the tone and content.
Krebitz has a few other directorial features that I have yet to see. I will hope to get to them one day, and look forward to seeing what else she does. I know many will disagree, but this film marks her out as an impressively unique talent.
8/10
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