When Brad Pitt and George Clooney are on the screen at the same time, it usually means one thing - a slick, sophisticated, sexy Hollywood hit.
"Wolves" is a classic crime thriller, but it has one key, striking difference: it is also a comment on the change in the perception of traditional Hollywood masculinity.
Director John Watts tells the story of two rival "problem solvers" who are turned on each other when they are hired for the same job, to cover up a high-profile crime.
Through the prism of car chases, shooting scenes and general twists characteristic of this genre, the film is a contemplation of aging, identity and the softening of traditional male archetypes.
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Although "Wolves" retains the elements of a sleazy crime story, it noticeably works to dismantle toxic masculinity, showing how Hollywood heroes can grow old without becoming caricatures of former versions of themselves.
The film had its premiere on Sunday, September 1, as part of the Venice Film Festival, one of the three key autumn events, along with Toronto and Telluride, where authors present films in the hope of success at the Oscars.
Pitt and Clooney arrived at the Lido to a thunderous welcome from fans, ahead of the film's premiere at the Palazzo del Cinema.
After the screening, the film received a four-minute standing ovation from the audience.
"Wolves" will be in theaters briefly this month, after which it will move to Apple TV+.
During the press conference, Clooney admitted that he was disappointed that the film would not have a longer theatrical life.
"Yes, we wanted it to come out in theaters, but we had some obstacles along the way, it happens," Clooney told reporters.
The actor recalled that something similar happened with the film he directed last year.
"You know, when I did 'Boys in the Boat,' I did it for MGM, and then the movie ended up on Amazon, and it didn't get international distribution at all, which was a big surprise," he recalls.
"There's an element of that that we're trying to weed out now... It's a shame, of course, a big shame. On the other hand, many people will see the film and it will appear in several hundred theaters.
"But, yes, it would have been nicer if it appeared in a lot more places."
Clooney stressed that he and Pitt paid back some of their salaries to make it possible and said that reports of how much they were paid for the film were exaggerated.
He says their salaries were "millions and millions and millions of dollars less than reported" in the New York Times, which said they were both paid more than $35 million each.
"I'm just saying that because I think it's bad for our industry if people think that's the wage standard."
"Wolves" is a film that fundamentally could not have been made in the carefree days of 2001, when Clooney and Pitt first appeared on screen together in Ocean's 11.
The two Oscar winners, now both in their sixties, play slightly different male leads than the ones audiences are used to.
The film is very aware of the ages of the main actors, and the script reflects that.
The script is a subtle mockery of industry mammoths such as the Bond franchise.
"Wolves" does not pander to the audience or force them to pretend that they are polished young 20-year-olds: the script is full of jokes about lumbago and impaired eyesight.
Asked about working with Clooney again, Pitt said: “We realized there had to be a good reason to get back together on a film where we could build on what we'd done before.
"But I also have to add, as I've gotten older, collaborating with people I normally like to spend time with has just become very important to me."
He adds: “We loved the idea, director Watts wrote the first hand and I read it and said it was great, then George read it and said it was great.
"It's never happened before that someone tells you an idea, that you get the first hand of the script and that in the end that's exactly what you shoot."
At the heart of the film is the undeniable chemistry between Pitt and Clooney, which oscillates between camaraderie and competition.
"Wolves" plays on the card of the actors' public personas, subtly weaving in allusions to their real-life reputations.
Pitt, who has faced major controversies in his private life, and Clooney, who cultivates an image of family paradise with his wife Amal, almost seem to reflect the dynamics of their characters themselves - both are lone wolves trying to cope with personal and professional challenges.
However, for some audiences, the pairing of Pitt and Clooney strikes a dissonant tone, given their vastly different public narratives.
At the Venice Film Festival, Angelina Jolie - Pitt's former partner - also presented the latest project, further underscoring the complicated personal histories that have unfolded before the public eye.
The film does not shy away from mentioning these tensions, hinting at how Hollywood's brightest stars are shaped by their lives on screen, just as much as their lives off it.
"Smug crime adventure"
"Wolves" received mixed reviews after the premiere.
In a review that gave the film three stars, Zan Brooks of The Guardian said, "The film itself never becomes much more than a silly, self-indulgent crime adventure, but its main stars seem like they're having a good time, and their good humor is highly contagious." ."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin was far less complimentary, saying that Pitt and Clooney "have the charisma of a pair of aging sports commentators in this crime comedy that moves at the speed of a diplodocus" in a performance that gave it one star.
Kevin Marr of The Times wasn't much more enthusiastic either, giving the film just two stars and calling it a "painfully unoriginal buddy movie."
Damon Weiss of Deadline was more positive, writing, "As a standard procedural story, Wolves is often a very witty and ingenious film."
"The camaraderie is palpable and sincere, but the comeback feels forced compared to the gentle comedy they're both very good at."
Feminist vision
Clooney, long considered the most famous "silver fox", exudes the same charm that he has preserved for decades on film.
But "Wolves" goes beyond that, dealing with the reality of aging in both actors and actresses.
The film makes a subtle argument about the absence of a female "silver fox" in Hollywood - noting that the film industry has long reserved roles for older men, while actresses often find their opportunities narrowing as they age.
The script of "Wolves" that relates positively to aging could be welcomed as a kind of relief among female viewers, who long ago got tired of Hollywood's inability to apply the same principle to actors as it does to actresses.
The casting of "Wolves" is age-appropriate and very progressive - leads Amy Ryan and Purna Jagannathan are both in their fifties.
Rajana's character is presented through the prism of avoiding the male gaze.
Her character is not hyper-made up; instead, she's allowed to look raw and raw, a rarity in a genre dominated by perfect, invincible heroines.
The female characters played by Rajan and Jagannathan are complex, chaotic and somewhat in a moral gray area.
This allows the female characters to stand side by side with the male protagonists.
The female characters are not only presented in a positive light when it comes to their age, but also subtly positive when it comes to sex - Rajan is an older woman exploring her own sexuality, in a way that is chaotic and often uncomfortable.
This theme comes up several times during the Venice Film Festival this year: in Haline Reijin's Babygirl, which premiered here last week, 57-year-old Nicole Kidman experiences a subversive second adolescence, through a sexual renaissance with a younger Harris Dickinson.
And while the presence of older women on screen boldly exploring their own sexuality reverberates through the festival, audiences in Venice are left wondering if it heralds a larger shift in Hollywood for feminism.
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