In his take on Angela Carter’s tale, director Neil Jordan took the Little Red Riding Hood story and injected a whole mess of adolescent sexuality and horrific werewolf action.
Now before you scream about screen writers bloody fucking up the original intent of the author, keep in mind that Carter herself co-wrote the screenplay with director Neil Jordan as based on both her own short story and her earlier adaptation of The Company of Wolves for radio. (I have not heard the latter so I do not know how much it differs from these tellings.) The story itself can be found in her Blodfy Chamber collection and reading it first is definitely recommended before watching the film.
Like Raggedy Rawney, it is set in what appears to be modern times with much of the action occurring within the dreams of Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson), a young girl. Twelve at the time and in her debut role, she reeks of Lolita-like sexuality which is certainly a theme Carter was interested in.
Rosaleen dreams that she lives in the Wild Wood (my term, not Angela’s) with her parents (Tusse Silberg as Mother and David Warner as Father) and sister (Georgia Slowe, credited as Alice, Girl Killed by Wolves), but one day her sister is killed by wolves. While her parents are mourning, Rosaleen goes to live with her grandmother (Angela Lansbury as Granny), who knits a bright red shawl for her granddaughter to wear. Granny tells her to beware of men whose eyebrows meet. (I am surprised she skipped the traditional sharp teeth caution.) Oooooh, werewolves! With sharp teeth and claws!
Digression time. Only Rosaleen and Alice have true names. Everyone else from Mother, Father, and Granny to the Huntsman and Witch Woman are named after their folkloric archetypes. There really aren’t characters here who are human at all as they are merely set pieces in Rosaleen’s script. Or somebody’s script.
Rosaleen naturally, like Red Riding Hood, takes a basket of goods through the Wild Wood to her grandmother’s cottage which of course is deep within the Wild Wood, where she encounters an attractive Huntsman (Micha Bergese), whose eyebrows meet. He tells her that he can find his way to her grandmother’s house before she can and the pair set off to Granny’s cottage. Guess what happens to Granny?
Rosaleen’s wounds the new werewolf who reverts to human form. Rosaleen comforts, errr, heals the Humtsman and eventualy runs off with him as she becomes a werewolf too. Ahhh, Jungian symbolism!
There’s lots more action but I’ll skip telling you about it as it’s not necessary to the tale I’m telling.
(Granny’s second tale to Rosaleen before Granny ends up as hearty meal blames werewolves on being the spawn of the devil with no control over their beastly nature.)
Nudity, sexual overtones, blood, violence, and enough archetypal imagery to choke many a scholar: what’s not to like here? Well,the quality of the DVD reflects the murky, dark nature of the film so it looks less than great. Carter and Jordan wanted a dream-like feel to the film and the deliberately dark look is sometimes annoying. Really annoying.
(ITC, 1984)
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