Three years ago, Alexander Skarsgård starred in director Robert Eggers’ epic period action drama The Northman, which Eggers wrote with Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist, and screenwriter Sjón. Now, Variety reports that Skarsgård and Sjón have reteamed for the gothic horror movie The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands, which marks the English-language debut of director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén.
Synopsis
Mesén made her feature debut with the 2021 fantasy drama Clara Sola, which was filmed in Costa Rica and presented in Spanish. She has written the screenplay for The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands with Sjón, crafting the story of a British widower in the 1880s Pacific Northwest, who hires a Native American governess, educated in a Christian mission school, to teach his two daughters. While preparing the eldest for an arranged marriage, a force within her begins to awaken, threatening everything she has been taught.
Skarsgård plays the widower and is joined in the cast by Darla Contois (Little Bird) as the governess and Bronte Carmichael (Christopher Robin) and Lily La Torre (Run Rabbit Run) as the two daughters. Forrest Goodluck (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) and Pernilla August (The Best Intentions) round out the cast.
Intimate Character Work and Magic Realism
Mesén provided the following statement: “I feel incredibly lucky to work with a cast who dive into their roles with such generosity, playfulness, and openness. Collaborating with such a talented group of people from all around the world has been a privilege. Darla embodies Isabel with visceral emotional depth, and Alexander portrays the father with a truth and volatility that ground the story. I can’t wait for the film to reach audiences!” The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands is said to deepen the filmmaker’s “signature blend of intimate character work and magic realism, expanding it into a darker, more haunting period world.“
Sjón said, “As someone who’s worked with myth and folk stories in novels, songs and screenplays, I was immediately fascinated by Nathalie’s command of bringing to the screen something as difficult as the shifting borders between the inner and outer reality of her film’s protagonist.“
The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands is currently in production, filming in Belfast in Northern Ireland. Does this gothic horror project sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
