Christian Cargill’s profoundly moving, from-the-heart documentary, Wolf, isn’t just a portrait of Patrick Wolf and his addiction journey; it’s a searing exploration of how the institutional erasure and oppression of young LGBTQ+ people throughout the ’80s and ’90s caused untold harm and created cycles of trauma that are still playing out today.
With the release of The Magic Position, his third studio album, in February 2007, Patrick Wolf was suddenly propelled toward fame. Critics praised his “glorious, foot-stomping, handclapping, shameless pop music” – Simon Fernand (BBC). Yet, while he appeared to revel in his success, darkness was never far from the surface in his artistry, resilience, and rebellion, a darkness that stretched back to his school days. While his music was labelled ‘shameless pop’, as Patrick Wolf says in Christian Cargill’s intimate documentary, “I don’t know which came first, addiction or shame; they both fuel each other”
Born in 1983, Patrick grew up in Wandsworth, South-east London, his home life a typical suburban affair. Yet from a young age, Patrick felt different to the other boys around him, a difference that was quickly picked up on by the boys at school, as they isolated, tormented and bullied him.
Like so many LGBTQ+ kids and teens, as Patrick became a teenager, he coped with this torment by adopting a resilient and defiant exterior, one where he used his image to stick two fingers up to the bullies. If they were going to call him a queer, he would dye his hair bright colours, wear it in pigtails and defy the playground rules of masculinity. His family were supportive, with his mum and dad never seeking to make him conform to ‘90s social expectations they knew were damaging; however, his school had other plans.
Under the era of Section 28, schools feared sexuality and actively oppressed discussion of LGBTQ+ issues, support, and care, in turn, condoning and ignoring rampant bullying, homophobic violence, and isolation. Trust me, I was a teenager in the early ’90s, and I can say without doubt that schools were not just condoning abuse of young people who were, or were perceived to be, LGBTQ+; they were often actively encouraging it. Patrick’s school, like so many, viewed him as the problem, not the boys relentlessly bullying him, and as a result, they excluded him for promoting a gay lifestyle.
For anyone who experienced the homophobia, trauma and toxicity of the ‘90s school environment, the scars run deep; despite their outward confidence and resilience, those days are imprinted on them, never to be erased. For the young Patrick Apps, it was these experiences that saw him become the Wolf.
“Turning into a wolf gave me an outlet for my rage”, says Wolf when reflecting on the teenage transformation that had now begun. It was at this point that Patrick began to explore his identity, his emotions, and his anger as he watched Tilda Swinton in Sally Potter’s seminal Orlando (1992), and embraced the need to create, write, play and perform. Wolf was already a talented musician even at this young age, and London’s alternative art scene was to transform that talent into something record companies would eventually discover and embrace. But as Patrick’s career took off and he embraced the dream he had waited for, even collaborating with his idol, Tilda Swinton, addiction had already dug its claws into our young Wolf, and it wasn’t about to let go.
As Patrick openly and honestly recounts his addiction journey through an intimate audio conversation with Tilda Swinton, home videos, animation, archive recordings and current conversations offer us a deeply personal and urgent insight into trauma, oppression, addiction, recovery and transformation.
Christian Cargill’s profoundly moving, from-the-heart documentary isn’t just a portrait of the artist and his addiction journey; it’s a searing exploration of how the institutional erasure and oppression of young LGBTQ+ people throughout the ’80s and ’90s caused untold harm and created cycles of trauma that are still playing out today. Through Patrick’s words, many LGBTQ+ people of a certain age will see their own experiences reflected; experiences that led many of us to jobs in youth work, education, the arts and politics.
Candid and contemplative, Wolf never shies away from the darkness of Patrick’s long journey toward healing or the impact it had on those around him. Yet, it is also a documentary full of hope, love, and heart, only further elevated by Owen Pallett’s stunning score of original and reimagined compositions. Patrick says toward the end of Wolf, “I don’t want anyone to think this is an extraordinary story,” reflecting that his story is just one of millions of addiction journeys. But while Patrick may not feel his story is extraordinary, its power to help those in similar positions navigate the darkness consuming them, or to help those already on their healing journey, truly is.
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