Verdict:
Brotherhood of the Wolf is what happens when you mix a cheesy violent American martial arts movie with an elegant period drama. You get a curious mash-up. Given a random test audience, this mash-up will probably result in half the people falling asleep from boredom, a third of the group trying to understand what the hell this movie is even about, and the remaining third will have their eyes enthusiastically glued to the screen, not willing to miss a moment.
Taking on the semi-historical Beast of Gévaudan, the film tells the story of two guys hired to help find a beast believed to have caused a series of brutal killings in the pre-revolution France. The film straddles the line between the elegant realm of French society and the spooky realm of the wild forests. The story starts strong, even if it is treading old ground, but it starts to weaken towards the end. In fact, it feels like the peak is about 2/3 of the way through the film and, from then on, the pace slows down, as if the creators were starting to get tired of the whole affair.
This causes the resolution to be not particularly exciting and, considering the full version of the movie is almost 3 hours long, it makes one realise that this movie could’ve used better editing. Nonetheless, the ending is satisfying.
Director Christophe Gans has a checkered and rather small portfolio, but this is arguably his finest work. The cast is a mix of international actors, reflective of the hodgepodge nature of the whole production. Samuel Le Bihan in the lead role is a fairly prolific actor but not known outside of France. His partner in the movie is Marc Dacascos, of all people. I’m telling you, it’s like they took the French and the American cultures and smushed them together and made them kiss. Speaking of smushing and kissing, we have Monica Belluci playing a courtesan, and this is a French movie, so you know what’s coming. Say what you want, but she is a professional at delivering sexuality and that’s what she does. Vincent Cassel conveys a subtle menace as our primary antagonist, but also humanity and pain. In case you’re wondering, Vincent Cassel is that French actor whose face you recognize but can’t recall if you’ve ever seen him in a movie before. He is the go-to guy for French action movies, which this is.
The special effects are acceptable for a movie made in 2001, but they are used sparringly, with the movie relying on the performances and the choreography of Marc Dacascos to pull the movie through. The beginning focuses on different characters, helping the viewer establish who is who, which is important in a movie with so many characters and conversations. The theme of a pack of wolf is present throughout. The film mixes still shots of 18th century France with dark shots involving action or horror.
It will take a certain kind of viewer to enjoy period sci-fi thriller. There are flaws in the plot, but in general, it succeeds in keeping you connected, and at the end, you’re interested enough to see the whole thing again in order to understand it better. The actors are good and the film has style.