Artist in Person

Peter Nicks's The Wolf introduces us to a rookie journalist working on a documentary that tries to "sort out the puzzle of drugs and drug addiction." Not so long ago he himself had been the one in handcuffs; Nicks courageously examines his own story of drug addiction. The film rejects all facile explanations of the drug puzzle and instead peers daringly into the complex nature of addiction. Through interviews with family, friends, the federal agent who arrested him, his judge, lawyer, probation officer, and others, Nicks explores issues of adoption, race, privilege, influential friendships, family tension and solidarity in a refreshingly honest and at times lyrical manner, allowing for the representations to reflect the true complexity of the problems themselves. Ultimately, this is an exceptional tale of one man's recovery, but larger questions loom immediately behind any sense of relief: what forces help us carve roles for ourselves, and what does it take for us to willingly change these roles?