WILDLIFE
Starring: Ed Oxenbould, Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal
Directed by: Paul Dano
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hr 45 mins
IFC
It’s amazing what a little pride will do to a family. Take the Brinsons. Things go to bad when man of the house Jerry (Gyllenhaal) is fired from his job. They go to worse when he is offered his job back but, because of his pride, refuses to accept it. With a family to support – wife Jeanette (Mulligan) and 14 year old son Joe (Oxenbould) – he leaves home to take a dangerous job as a firefighter. He should have just gone back to work.
I don’t know what is happening in Hollywood, but so many young actors are taking the reins and writing and directing their own features. This film was directed by Paul Dano (the co-star of such films as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “There Will Be Blood”) and written by Dano and fellow actress Zoe Kazan (“The Big Sick” and the granddaughter of the great director Elia Kazan) and while it starts off a little slow, as the story grows you begin to embrace it.
The performances are smartly delivered, with Gyllenhaal at his most hang-dogged at times and Mulligan her beautiful but unsure self. The story is told through the eyes of Joe and Oxenbould is fine as the central story point.
Technically the film is beautifully presented, with long shots of mountains and sky as far as the eye can see. Credit this to director Dano and cinematographer Diego Garcia, who give the film almost a “postcard” quality and Mr. Dano a very strong freshman effort from behind the camera.
