“The Wolfpack”
Directed by Crystal Moselle

I’ll make this quick. I love documentaries…of all kinds. But I especially love docs that illuminate the hidden oddities of our world, of our personalities, of our artistic exploits or of our intra-psychic response to cruelty & extreme circumstances. “The Wolfpack” falls mostly in the latter category. Specifically, it reveals to us a group of six brothers who have not been allowed to leave their apartment in New York, but for a handful of times, in over 15 years. To cope with the boredom and lack of social interaction, they re-create their favorite films. Sounds incredibly intriguing, right? And, as it was showered with accolades and awards on the festival circuit, I eagerly sat down to screen it.

But to be honest, I didn’t feel it accomplished anything. There is a fine line between cinematic observation and self-indulgent voyeurism (which is where I feel the film ultimately lands). I WANTED to enjoy it…as a mental health services provider myself, I found the Angulo family to be heartbreaking and inspirational…but the movie is dull, dull, dull. It literally meanders for tens of minutes with no accompanying a-ha moments. This could’ve easily been a short…which would’ve forced the director to be more specific about her choices, premise, and structure.

But, listen, given how well received this film was, your mileage may vary.

Written on 11/14/2015