AMONGST THE WOLVES - Mark Reviews Movies

Amongst the Wolves, Sunrise Films

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Review by Mark Dujsik | July 10, 2025

Why is Danny (Like McQuillan), the main character of Amongst the Wolves, homeless? This question isn't asked to set up some explanation of the character and discuss how his circumstances relate to some larger theme in co-writer/director Mark O'Connor's movie. It's a legitimate query that the screenplay, written by the director and star, doesn't seem to know.

To be sure, Danny has a lot going on in his life, a lot of pointing at a troubled or troubling man. For one thing, he's a veteran, who served in Afghanistan, and upon arriving home to Dublin, Danny has been haunted by memories of some of the horrors he witnessed while in the military. Some flashbacks show him in what's presumably a drunken stupor while he's meant to be watching his young son, and after dropping a lit cigarette on the carpeted floor, the resulting smoke and/or fire gave the boy permanent lung damage.

All of this, of course, results in Danny's wife Gill (Jade Jordan) kicking him out of the house and divorcing him, but it also leads to many more questions. Did the wife not notice the changes in her husband attitude and behavior? If she did, why would she leave the couple's son alone with a man clearly in so much distress, and if she didn't, are we really supposed to see Gill as the responsible one in this dynamic? When is this story set, anyway? That's a minor detail, but it might help explain, for example, how long Danny was actually in the military and the length of time he has been struggling with his apparent post-traumatic stress disorder.

We don't know any of this and a lot more, because the script doesn't care about Danny, this family, or anything else about the psychological effects of combat on veterans. The movie needs the character to be troubled and homeless, because the plot couldn't happen otherwise. It's really as simple as that.

What we know about Danny is that vague back story, as well as a lot of contradictory words and actions from the man. He wants to spend time with his son Tadgh (Manco O'Connor) again, but for as much as he says that, the guy doesn't seem to help himself or take help from anyone who won't be of use for the plot at some point. There are no scenes of him drinking or using drugs here, so his apparent inability or reluctance to look for work or housing aren't on account of addiction. Maybe the man just wants to punish himself for what happened with his son, but if that's the case, why is his singular motive to regain some form of custody of the boy?

These inquiries could continue, but if O'Connor and McQuillan were too uncurious to even consider any of these basics of character background and development, they're useless to keep asking at this point. Only the plot matters, so let's get to matters of that plot.

Danny meets Will (Daniel Fee), a teenage boy who is also homeless after his mother kicked him out for selling drugs. The kid owes a lot of money to Power (Aidan Gillen), a local crime boss, but soon enough, we learn that debt isn't actually Will's. It has been passed on from his dead father, who worked for Power and killed himself after he realized he wouldn't be able to pay off the cash—or was killed by Power himself, because he thought the man's son would serve as a better stooge for his business.

There are even more question to ask here, but what's the point anymore? Danny takes it upon himself to help protect the teen, because the kid's mother is apparently as ignorant or unsympathetic as Gill might be in their respective situations at home. Power and his goons start targeting and tormenting Danny and Will, which is impressive since they don't know where the two have set up camp in the woods. If they did, the thugs would just nab or beat or kill them on the spot, but if they don't, how do they know exactly where to put the carcass of Will's dead dog so that the teen will is guaranteed to see that warning?

Something this simple shouldn't be filled with so many holes and inconsistencies of character and plot. Here we are, though, with a movie that wants to come across as if it means well in terms of its ideas but doesn't bother to establish the basics of narrative so that those ideas can develop, too. Ultimately, Amongst the Wolves is mostly a pedestrian thriller, anyway, bolstered a bit by how utterly cruel Gillen's villain is, so we can kind of understand the filmmakers' lack of curiosity in telling this story.

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