Blog #404: Why “Wolf” (1994) is a Perfect Illustration of Both Professional and Personal

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When it comes to business and middle aged life, it can be a very ruthless way of life. Just the idea of being pushed out of our professional and personal position in life at a moment’s notice can be very distressing and demoralizing to one’s self-confidence. And it isn’t just a high ranking position, but any position for that matter. It can be hard to understand why we are pushed out of something we are comfortable in, especially when it comes to anyone with a special gift. 

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That is why the 1994 film, “Wolf,” clearly demonstrates that business can be a cruel factor of life, but it doesn’t mean you should go down fighting for your position. The protagonist, Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) is an aging editor-in-chief of a New York publishing firm that is cast aside for his protege and the main antagonist, Stewart Swinton (James Spader). Now, when you look at this, you can see why Will is pushed aside. Stewart is younger, more hungry for power in the business. 

But he isn’t really someone with an acceptable type of character. The problem is that the new publishing head, Raymond Alden (Christopher Plummer) feels that the firm needs a fresh new approach and as a result, demotes Will from his high-ranking position. 

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This is clearly demonstrated in many businesses, regardless of who we are and what we do. Now, Will is someone with a gift, a power that was given to him via a wolf bite. Usually, when we receive a special gift, we are usually born with it. Will was already a middle-aged man when he received his gift, a gift that gives him confidence to fight for his job while also improving his love life in the form of his boss’s daughter, Laura Alden (Michelle Pfeiffer). So right away, he is improving his life both professionally and personally. 

This climaxes to one of my favorite scenes in the film where Will fires Stewart in the bathroom as a way of sending a message that his new employer made a grave mistake. When it comes to neurodivergent individuals, it is very well known that we are often overlooked because of our difference and by any means necessary, we will do what we can to prove that we are more than truly are. This sort of continues later in the hotel lobby scene where Will abandons his wife Charlotte (Kate Nagelian) after he finds her cheating on Stewart. Clearly he has had enough and he deserves better than what he had right now.

“Will Fires Stewart” from “Wolf” (1994)

“A Moment of His Time” from “Wolf” (1994)

The difference in this story is that Will wasn’t born neurodivergent, he was just sharing his gift with the world around him courtesy of his wolf bite. But this also teaches an important lesson that just because we have a special gift, we have to learn to reign in that gift so that it doesn’t get us into trouble. This is demonstrated when Will attacks a group of muggers who try to rob him in Central Park. His gift had nearly gotten him into trouble and by the time he pulls out the mugger’s fingers, it’s already too late to control it. 

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This brings up how Will reacts by handcuffing himself to the radiator of his hotel room. He reacts in a way that a neurodivergent person would because their current behaviors are not a reflection of who he is. We don’t want to behave or act in a manner that harms others around us. The last thing any of us want is for our family and friends to be harmed which is why he refuses to let Laura stay when she comes to his hotel room to pick him up for their dinner date that night.

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Now as for Laura Alden herself, like Will, she is in the process of a life change of her own. A former juvenile delinquent, she has often been viewed as the black sheep of her family and all her life she just wanted someone to love her for who she is, not just her overall beauty. 

She sees Will as a reflection of herself and the fact that he understands her more than anything. What neurodivergent children and individuals want is for someone to understand for who they are. All her life, from the time her mother died when she was 12 to her brother’s suicide, Laura was a lost soul which unfortunately, a lot of neurodivergent individuals are lost souls. We want to be accepted for who we are and Laura furthermore serves as a representative of undiagnosed neurodivergent individuals that are misunderstood for something else. What she sees in Will is that he too, is a lost soul not of his own free purpose all culminating in the moment where they make love with one another.

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Finally, there is the matter that we must accept change as part of our overall destiny which is demonstrated in the climax after Will saves Laura from being assaulted by Stewart as a werewolf. When we become neurodivergent adults, we have to sometimes let our old lives go for new ones. Will has sacrificed his ability to remain human and he must live in the woods forever as a wolf. 

Now, Laura knows that her life will never be the same as well, which is why she breaks down crying after Will leaves for the woods. She knows that the life she had is too, over. But at the same time, it is also happy tears she is crying because all her life, she was a tormented and misunderstood soul. If you have an epiphany and a realization that your life needs to change, then you would react in the same way.

But that doesn’t mean that leaving your old life behind isn’t easy…that’s because it’s never easy. 

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“Wolf” (1994) is one of those movies that can impact you in more ways than one as an adult. For one thing, it’s a movie that neurodivergents can relate to the characters in both a business sense and a personal sense that also goes on in their own lives. Plus, I think this is one of those movies that are so well written that it should be taken more seriously than it really is.

My only recommendation is that you gotta wait until at least 17 years old because this movie has an “R” Rating. Anyone younger, then a parent or guardian should see the movie and who knows? Maybe they can relate in the same manner, too. High School Business Classes should also consider showing this movie to their class because of the business perspective that it teaches. 

Trust me, there is value in monster movies and it’s not just “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” that offer that value.

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Catch you all later!!

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