KARLOVY VARY – When your main character is wearing makeup that makes him or her unrecognizable for an entire feature-length film it better be good. In the case of “The True Adventures of Wolfboy,” a fantastical drama that centers on a teenage boy with hypertrichosis, it needs to be stellar. In that respect, director Martin Krejci was given a gift from a substantial makeup team that delivers award-worthy work.* You also need an actor that can deliver a rich performance under such circumstances and Krejci lucked out with the immensely talented Jaeden Martell. Despite bucking the odds in those two key areas, the other elements in this long-delayed indie result in a picture that is certainly watchable but not much more than that.
*It’s actually quite disappointing the filmmakers have not made any images of Martell as Paul in full makeup available to the public.
Debuting out of competition at the 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the “Wolfboy” in question is Paul (Martell), a 13-year-old Buffalo, New York boy whose genetic condition causes excessive hair growth all over his body. As you’d expect with any young person, he’s not dealing with the social awkwardness of his appearance very well despite the positive encouragement from his single father, Denny (Chris Messina). Paul is then shocked when, as a birthday present, his dad presents him with the option of going to a private academy that provides a “safe” environment for kids suffering numerous deformities. Distraught over the prospect, he finds a gift in his room addressed from his long lost mother. It’s a map with an address in nearby Pennsylvania and in a moment of panic Paul decides to run away to try and find her.
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Paul’s resulting journey is broken down into different chapters that find him becoming a temporary sideshow freak for a “demon” Carnival operator known as Mr. Silk (John Turturro), bonding with a “mermaid” transgender girl who goes by Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) and assisting in a spree of convenient store hold-ups with the off-kilter Rose (Eve Hanson). While all these events are occurring through Paul’s imaginative point of view, his father works with an exasperated police detective to try and find him.
It’s very obvious early on where Olivia Dufault‘s original screenplay is headed, but the literal and metaphorical sideshows distract from the emotional impact of that moment. And, frankly, Paul and Aristiana’s growing friendship and the carefree adventures with Rose are much more interesting than any of his familial issues. When Paul does discover the truth about why his mother (Chloe Sevigny) abandoned him as a baby it almost feels like an afterthought. Part of the problem is Dufault’s screenplay and the other is actually the most interesting aspect of the film, it’s tone.
Working with cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo and production designer Aaron Osborne, Krejci takes Paul through a world that’s a bit of Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam and John Cameron Mitchell all rolled into one. The result is admittedly impressive – especially for an indie film shot in Buffalo, New York of all places – but when Krejci wants to bring Paul’s story back down to earth there is almost nothing tangible to land on.
“Wolfboy” is aided, however, by a stellar cast including the aforementioned Martell who does wonders under all that makeup, Giannamore who steals every scene she’s in and Tutorro who is beyond committed even if his character is more cartoonish on paper than it should be. You just wonder if a less stylistic approach would have made it an adventure worth running away for. [C+]
