SYNOPSICS
Wildlife (2018) is a English movie. Paul Dano has directed this movie. Ed Oxenbould,Jake Gyllenhaal,Carey Mulligan,Travis W Bruyer are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2018. Wildlife (2018) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
Set in 1950s Montana, "Wildlife" shows and tells the drama and angst that a teenage boy, Joe, goes through, witnessing both his parents split up in his presence. His father, Jerry, loses his job. And though he was offered his job back, he refuses to take it back because he "won't work for those kind of people anymore". So instead, he takes a job fighting a forest fire, which his wife, Jeanette, is dead set against, both for safety reasons, and because she's convinced that he will be unfaithful while away. But he leaves anyway. And yet, without anything happening to him, or any evidence of hanky-panky on his part, she acts the way one would expect her to act had he perished in the fire, or if she had found out that he had been unfaithful while away. This fact causes Joe to acquire uneasy feelings toward his mother. His father does return however. But the three are no happier for it, as Jeanette has taken up with a new significant other in her life. And Jerry reacts furiously against ...
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Wildlife (2018) Reviews
A good start for Paul Dano's directorial debut
This movie is being described as "A boy witnesses his parents' marriage falling apart after his mother finds another man." And while I think thats true, I think its a bit more complex than that. It also is a bit of a coming of age story where Joe has to grow up and be the adult in this family, but also it seems that mom is having a mid-life crisis (although shes not quite mid-life) and trying to discover who she is outside of being the "perfect 50s housewife" that perhaps she feels trapped in. There's a lot of symbolism in this movie. The backdrop of this movie is that there is a wildfire that has been raging and the townspeople have been desperately trying to put out. And that correlates with Joe and his own family. Hes trying to put out the fire in his own family. Also, Joe works at photography studio and Paul Dano (the director and co-writer) even said that this is supposed to be a PORTRAIT of a family life. Speaking of Paul Dano, I think he did well with his directorial debut. I think visually there are some gorgeous shots in this movie. Like for instance where Joe is watching the wildfires (and hes perfectly centered - probably again to mimic the portrait vibe). Also where Joe is about to give up but it starts to snow and hope has regained. I liked the film for the most part. They do frame the film by following Joe's perspective. And I think its mostly effective in making you feel for this kid, my only problem is there are a couple of parts where I feel like there are gaps in the story. Without giving too much away there is a scene where Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) has decided to seek revenge and it ends up backfiring. And yet, the next time we see him everything seems to be fine. And it never really gets explained what happened. Theres a brief line that they decided it was a "misunderstanding" but you never really see what happened and he also gets hurt during this, and that never gets brought up again either. I know Paul and Zoe (the other writer) were adapting this from a book and perhaps thats the way it is in there too. But I personally found that a little frustrating. I needed a little more. Carey Mulligan is fantastic in this. She would be deserving to have her name thrown in the hat for awards season. I also thought Ed Oxenbould was a standout too. Which is good to hear since he's onscreen for pretty much most of the movie. I definitely will be looking forward to more of his things. I also thought Jake Gyllenhaal was good but hes absent for a good chunk of the film and so he just didnt stand out as much as Carey or Ed did. Overall I liked the film. It wasn't perfect, but I would totally check out another film that Paul Dano directs.
Restrained yet heartfelt.
I have so much respect for restrained filmmaking for which this movie is an example. Its steady pace and tasteful design gives it authenticity, allowing you to feel like you are living the life of the main character Joe. The acting is superb and the characters are living, breathing individuals filled with hopes dreams and independence. Though Jeanette falters at times, she is doing what is she sees is necessary for her and her son's survival. The emotion on her face, flickering like a shorted lightbulb, portrays her fragility with great depth. The score of the film is great. The story, though maybe too subdued for some, stays with you long after this earnest movie reaches its resolution.
Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal as haunted parents, and what a debut by Paul
As an actor, Paul Dano, with his long-faced gaze of inquiring gloom, has always radiated a sense of unease. That's far from the only thing he communicates (he was spectacular as Brian Wilson in "Love & Mercy," a performance that beautifully merged Wilson's disturbance and his joy). But a kind of hushed foreboding remains the vintage Dano mood, and "Wildlife," his directorial debut, is suffused with it.
Wildlife (2018)
This happened to be one of my most hyped films of the year. I am a big fan of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan so I knew I had to check this out as soon as earthly possible. Had the pleasure of attending a screening of this film at the IFC Center with directer Paul Dano and co-wwriter Zoe Kazan present for a Q & A. The film is beautiful to look at with rich cinematography, has a number of strong performances with a fantastic one from Carey Mulligan, and shows that Dano and Kazan have the talent to get behind the camera and bring a quality piece of work. The film shows a family in 1960's Montana and how life changing events cause their family to fall apart. After the father is fired, he decides to take a job putting out wildfires which causes him to leave the home for an extended period of time. During this time his wife struggles trying to hold her family together by doing whats best for them but she also questions if she even loves her husband. All this while, their teenage son has to watch his parents drift apart silently. The film stars Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, and Bill Camp. As mentioned earlier the cinematography and especially the scenery in this film are gorgeous. Lush, rich and a perfect description for a simpler quieter time in 60's Montana. The film gets quite uncomfortable as you start wondering about the state of mind Jeanette Brinson (Mulligan) and what she gets herself into. You are basically like the teenage son Joe (Oxenbould). You see things from his lenses, feel exactly what he is feeling, and can't look away much like him. Its a startling tale but one that depicts a perfect looking family where it is anything but. Carey Mulligan is one of the best actresses out there today, that's not even a debate. She's had so many great performances that I don't even know which is her best. This is definitely up there though. It's such an introspective look into the lives of a family where things are just beyond repair. I'm very impressed by Dano and Kazan. Both are talented on the camera but wow they were able to engineer something so wonderful behind the camera. I'm definitely intrigued to see if the duo decide to continue with film-making an writing. 8/10
Overhyped debute
I watched this movie yesterday at Stockholm Film Festival and what a disappointment it was. I like Paul Dano as an actor a lot and had read promising reviews of the movie beforehand. Just before watching Wildlife I had seen the Palm Dior winner Shoplifters which was a wonderful piece of cinema. Maybe having seen such a wonderful movie before watching Wildlife had a negative impact of my view on Wildlife, but still, Wildlife was still the worst movie I have seen in several years. Let me explain why. There's so much I find bad about this movie that I don't have enough time to write thoroughly about it all. Maybe I will come back to this review when I have more time to update it. First of all, I found the characters to be completely unbelievable and confusing. Jake Gyllenhaal as a dad was then out of nowhere he starts drinking, refuses to accept his job back and decides to go fight wildfires. The son who was supposed to be 14 looks like he is 17. The story about the girl hanging out with the son is completely forced, unnecessary and leads to nothing. The mother does not try to hide from her son that she's cheating on her husband. She even invites the son to a dinner at his house. Then she proceeds to dance with first her son and then the man she's cheating with in front of her son, while repeatadly singing on a infuriatingly irritating "cha-cha-cha". It was one of the most cringe-worthy scenes I've ever seen in my whole life. I had to laugh and I heard several other people in the audience do the same. This happened at several times in the movie. The son does not seem to be able to display any other emotion than disbelief by looking stupid with his mouth half open. I had a few good laughs while watching this movie. See Shoplifters instead if you're looking for a good movie.