Steele Wool

Tony Steele's deaf ex-girlfriend Daphne Wool kills her abusive husband during a fight before Joey, the hitman hired to kill him, gets a chance to do the job. Joey is impressed by Daphne's ability to kill a man with her bare hands and introduces her to The Boss, who hires her to be a contract killer.

Daphne's first task is to pose as a real estate agent to kill a prospective buyer, but the house is unfurnished and empty of any tools for her to use to carry out the job. She uses all he has, a paper clip, by straightening it and putting it in the target's drink so that he chokes on it and dies.

Daphne is thrilled by her new profession that gives her a sense of adventure, but one of her targets captures her and Tony and tests the lethal capability of sound waves on them. Joey arrives and helps them escape together with the dog of one of the target's previous victims.

Reviewer Jim McLennan of girlswithguns.org gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "Daphne is played gloriously against all the tropes of the female assassin: it’s no coincidence her most effective undercover disguise is an estate agent. Add to this, Varela is deaf: this element affects, yet does not define, her character and that’s exactly the way disability should be portrayed. It is even worked nicely in to the plot, with one of McCabe’s weapons in development being a sonic cannon. However, I’d like to have seen more of her in action; perhaps for budgetary reasons, this is limited, or perhaps Cappello just wasn’t interested in that aspect."[1]

Reviewer Alan Ng of filmthreat.com wrote, "When a story lays tonally flat, it’s challenging to engage and connect with the audience. If the stakes were higher, we’d root for the protagonist. If the jokes where funnier, we’d wait for the next one. If the drama were grounded, then we can connect with the character’s plight. It’s not to say there weren’t moments. There is a moment of connection when Daphne executes her first kill, but it’s just not enough. Engage and connect with the audience."[2] He concluded, "Overall, Steele Wool tells a solid story, with heart, and mild laughs, but it really needed a moment to burst out with a ball of energy from somewhere to shake up its mild tone."[2]

Reviewer Richard Propes of theindependentcritic.com wrote, "I'd be remiss if not giving Cappello and Varela much respect for the film's authentic representation and for sticking a middle finger up at anything resembling the usual inspiration porn disability stereotypes. Instead, Varela's Daphne is a badass with a heart who's also deaf and who also uses a cochlear implant throughout the course of the film."[3]

• Steele Wool at IMDb