Ben Van Hoei wrote:
"With its narrow focus on two people in a passionate relationship and its abundant use of metaphors, the film certainly has more in common with the intimate auteur dramas of the old continent than with new American cinema . . . Whatever the reaction of American audiences will be, Before It Had a Name (2005) is certainly amongst the most pleasing --- and decidedly auteur --- surprises of the Venice Days."
"Owl Wrangler" was Tom Cullen.
Before It Had a Name (2005) is a film directed by Giada Colagrande and co-written by her and husband Willem Dafoe. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was re-titled as "The Black Widow" when it was released on DVD. It marked the first time Dafoe had developed a project to the point of being shot as well as the first time Colagrande had written in English.