Alone Wolf

In the arts, there is a common trope known as the “idiot plot.” The godfather of film criticism, the legendary Roger Ebert, defined it as “any plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots.” With this in mind, I give you the drama, Alone Wolf.

Jonathan (Richard de Klerk) is a strange duck. A generally mild-mannered and quiet type, Jonathan spends his days cloistered inside his small home, eeking out a living buying and selling goods from the internet (think eBay) and spending his leisure time playing video games on his impressive console of television monitors. It is never explicitly mentioned, but Jonathan shows signs of severe agoraphobia, and he might be a germophobe. This impression comes thanks to the veritable maze he has created in his home with plastic tarps hung about to avoid dirt and contaminants, and to block the sunlight from shining through the windows.

“…Jonathan catches, red-handed, a pair of thieves attempting to steal packages from his front porch.”

Jonathan’s only contact with the outside world is periodic communication with the family lawyer, Richard (Paul Schackman), video calls with his hospitalized, bedridden mother, Annabelle (Lisa Roumain), and the postman, Fred (Trent Walker), who picks up and delivers the packages Jonathan sends and receives.

One day, Jonathan catches, red-handed, a pair of thieves attempting to steal packages from his front porch. Unfortunately, Fred appears moments later and is unlucky enough to encounter the burglars. Taken by surprise, the male thief, a dirtbag named Benny (James Aaron Oliver), ends up accidentally killing Fred. Jonathan has, of course, witnessed all of this and caught it on video.