Naomi Watts stars in a one woman show in this thriller about an author with agoraphobia and how she deals with everyday life, all whilst never leaving her home.
Set in 1977, we meet June Leigh (Naomi Watts) who resides in her deceased’s grandmother’s apartment within the Bronx. Suffering from a heatwave across New York City, we see the poor state June’s apartment is in with magazines piled up and trash bags stored in corners surrounded by flies. Shortly learning that June has agoraphobia, where June doesn’t feel safe outside of her own home, we see the many survival techniques of paying rent, eating, and disposing of rubbish.
Whilst listening to the radio at night, June hears the announcement of a killer roaming the streets of NYC murdering females in public, which doesn’t set too much concern to June until every night her intercom buzzer continues to be rung with no response. Unsure if this could be the killer or some kid pulling a prank, June does her best to ignore the repetitive annoyance.
Unable to leave the apartment and running low on cash, June reaches out to her friend Margot (Jennifer Ehle) for financial assistance. With the condition of handing the money over in person, Margot shows up at June’s apartment and is shocked to see the state of June’s living situation. Helping clean the apartment, the two old friends spend time discussing June’s past and what got her to the point of fear from leaving her home.
With only a short visit, Margot heads home and June is left with her empty apartment and nightly interruptions from an unresponsive intercom buzzer. Feeling lonely, June starts to make connections with the delivery boy and a second male companion.
The is film solely set inside an apartment with very little outside observations. Now, you would think that this scenario would be of short attention interest and with the possibility of being dull. But I found myself more intrigued with each chapter along the way. There was always something that kept the film interesting; whether it had been a new face, or news on the radio or the mysterious intercom buzzer, there was always an element of suspense that held my curiosity.
I honestly feel that if Naomi Watts wasn’t in The Wolf Hour, and the leading role was offered to a less famous actress, the film wouldn’t have done so well. Watts brings the audiences in with her name, and does an incredible job keeping viewers attentive with her talent. Watts is almost unrecognisable with her brown hair which I feel is a good thing, as I didn’t find myself comparing the role of June to Watts’ characters in other films that she has starred in.
The Wolf Hour ends with a lot of unanswered questions, leaving its conclusion up to your imagination and discussed opinions among friends. This somewhat infuriated me as there were some topics that I wanted to learn more about. But in saying this, the conclusion didn’t make the film bad. It was actually quite enjoyable.
Be sure to see Watts star in the new thriller, The Wolf Hour when the film finally gets a regular release date near you.