‘WILDLIFE’ PACKS A WALLOP
CAREY MULLIGAN AND JAKE GYLLENHAAL STAR IN “WILDLIFE.”
Paul Dano has established himself as an actor of depth and versatility, whether it’s as a troubled young Brian Wilson in “Love & Mercy” or an especially cruel overseer in “12 Years a Slave.” But his true calling may be behind the camera, if his directorial debut, the deliciously bittersweet coming-of-age story “Wildlife,” is any indication.
An intimate and powerful exploration of a family under pressure from within and without, “Wildlife,” based on a book by Richard Ford, is the kind of movie few seem to make anymore: a novelistic chronicle of a marriage on the brink that is serious instead of saccharin and moving instead of maudlin, despite its family-friendly PG-13 rating. There’s no nudity or even much strong language but the emotions are raw and naked all the same.
It’s fall 1960 and the Brinson family — dad Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), mom Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) and 14-year-old son, Joe (Ed Oxenbould) — is newly arrived in Great Falls, Mont. Jerry’s got a job at a golf course, Joe’s trying out for the football team and mom seems happy to a homemaker.
But the working-class, financially strapped Brinsons are not the Cleavers from “Leave It to Beaver.” Jerry gets fired from his job, Joe’s not cut out for football and mom masks her unhappiness under a veneer of domestic normalcy. The latter is ripped away when Jerry announces he’s leaving to join a local crew to help fight forest fires threatening the area. He has no idea when he’ll return.
His abrupt departure causes Jeanette to at first unravel and Joe, a good-natured loner toggling between adolescence and adulthood, to begin the long journey of growing up.
It’s a simple story well told with exceptional performances
from all involved, especially Mulligan, who’s pitch perfect as a matriarch who feels alone, abandoned and anxious. Oxenbould, an Australian actor who has been impressive in such films as “Paper Planes” and “The Visit,” comes into his own with a showcase that nails the awkwardness, anger and indecision of a kid seeing his parents’ world implode.
But the real hero here is Dano, who not only gets strong turns from all of the actors but is not afraid to linger, perhaps a bit too long, on a shot of a face or the family through the window. Those extra few seconds offer added emotional impact while
keeping the pace slow and deliberate without becoming lethargic.
And the final shot, heartbreaking in its understatement, packs the wallop of a Mike Tyson knockout punch.
“Wildlife” is the kind of movie whose low-key hush could get lost in all the buzz over the bigname, holiday-season releases. Sometimes, though, it’s the quiet ones who make the most noise.