What’s the saying, “Love is Blind”? If love is blind, does that mean that lust is deadly? “A Wolf at the Door” is a Brazilian film based on a true story of two lovers. The male is married and has a daughter. The female is single, younger and eager to feel loved. Once he decides that the risk is too much, he tries to break it off. She retaliates with a pregnancy scare. It only escalates from there, to unbelievable levels of atrocity. To say you’d have to see it to believe it is just unfair. Seeing as it’s based in reality, you could research the story and see for yourself, but I wouldn’t recommend spoiling the film for yourselves.
The film stars Milhem Cortaz as Bernardo and Leandra Leal as Rosa, the two lovers. Leal was the film’s strongest asset as Rosa. Moments of fear were shaken from her so hard, her performance could be felt in your seat. Bernardo was able to inflict such pain and trust all at once that it was easy to understand how some women can put up with so much in a relationship.
Some would say the end of the film is a bit of a plot twist, others see it coming all along. Either way, the film paces well and keeps viewers invested in the story. Not having seen any previous work from director, Fernando Coimbra, it was hard, if not impossible to see that this was only his third attempt at directing. Coimbra approached the story with a sense of comfort that caused the audience to be uncomfortable, which was good. Another strong point in the film was the score. While most of the film used subtle notes to inflict emotion, the opening and closing sequences used the same music which had an eerie, ominous tone about it. Something to warn us that what was about to happen may disturb us.
This film stuck with me after watching it. For hours, all I could think of was humanity and the depravity we cause each other, and for what?
By Angela Davis
lostinreviewsblog.wordpress.com 
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