Michelle Monday

In my demented mind, we’ve already been living in the spooky season forever, but for more normies, October is when their thoughts turn to thoughts of witches, goblins, full moons and whatnot. So, with October just around the corner, and because we just recently had a full harvest moon, this Monday belongs to Michelle in her underrated gem Wolf (1994).

A thinking person’s werewolf film, Wolf, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary earlier this year, has charmed me since day one, when I saw it in the theater in ‘94. I watch it every October, and often one or two other times a year, too. It’s a grownup movie, the kind made by grownups for grownups. It’s about male fertility and the very real fear of aging into obsolescence, among other things. The wolf metaphor works so well. Jack Nicholson is superb in one of his rare, subdued performances. Michelle is exquisite as the stealth protagonist of the film, Laura Alden. Beyond her exquisite performance—she’s tough and tender, sweet and sour—I’ve ranted and raved about just how exquisite she looks in this film ever since ‘94, so I’ll spare you for now, except to say that Mike Nichols sure did know how to frame that exquisite face of hers in one jaw-dropping shot after another. As Nicholson’s character puts it:

And that’s the truth.