Wildlife
2018, 104 minutes, Digital, PG-13
USA
Language: English
Director: Paul Dano
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, and Bill Camp
Distributor: IFC Films
14-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry — a housewife and a golf pro — in a small town in 1960s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages close to the Canadian border, and when Jerry loses his job — and his sense of purpose — he decides to join the cause of fighting the fire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves. Suddenly forced into the role of an adult, Joe witnesses his mother’s struggle as she tries to keep her head above water.
Actor Paul Dano makes an impressive debut as a filmmaker and — along with co-writer Zoe Kazan — elegantly adapts Richard Ford’s novel of the same name. Carey Mulligan delivers one of her finest performances as a complex woman whose self-determination and self-involvement disrupts the values and expectations of the 1960s nuclear family. With precise details and textures of its specific time and place, Wildlife commits to the viewpoint of a teenage boy observing the gradual dissolution of his parents’ marriage.
NYT CRITIC’S PICK
“The entire cast does exceptional work, but the movie is anchored by Mulligan, who gives the best performance of any I’ve seen in film this year… a remarkable directorial debut.”
— Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
GRADE: A-
“A tender, gorgeous, and exquisitely understated drama about a family that loses its faith in itself… It’s striking to see such a proven actress deliver what’s so clearly the best work of her career.”
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“Wildlife strikes a rare emotional balance. It feels as devastating as a fantastical epic with melodramatic consequences, but quotidian enough to harness a deeply relatable intimacy. This also comes from the performances — Mulligan is outstanding…”
— Ella Kemp, Sight & Sound
OFFICIAL SELECTION:
Cannes Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
New York Film Festival
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