Wildlife

In a small Montana town during the 1960s, 14-year-old Joe Brinson watches a family that feels both close and frayed. His mother Jeanette keeps home life steady while his father Jerry, a golf pro, loses work and drive. When a forest fire approaches the border, Jerry signs up with the firefighting team, hoping to regain purpose and respect. He leaves behind a household that now depends on Jeanette's stubborn optimism and Joe's budding sense of responsibility. With money tight and expectations shifting, Joe experiences the adult world from the inside out, noticing how fear, pride, and loyalty collide as the season changes and ordinary life comes under pressure. Joe's perspective becomes a quiet counterpoint to the adults' choices and the town itself feels both comforting and claustrophobic.

Directed by Paul Dano, Wildlife adapts Richard Ford's novel with a screenplay by Dano and Zoe Kazan. The film premiered at festivals in 2018 and was released in the United States by IFC Films, featuring Mulligan, Gyllenhaal, and Ed Oxenbould.

Wildlife speaks in quiet details rather than headlines, capturing a period when economic strain touched families. Its restrained visuals and intimate camera work turn the Brinson home into a pressure chamber, while Mulligan and Gyllenhaal deliver performances that linger with viewers. The film notes how small-town judgments shape characters' choices.

Critics highlighted the film's stark, unsentimental look at family life and the ways fear, pride and responsibility ripple through a household. The story uses a coming-of-age lens to explore masculinity and the limits of parental support in a changing era. Its measured pace and intimate focus drew praise for restraint.

Awards: The film did not receive major award nominations, though it drew praise from critics for its restrained storytelling and the performances by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as its faithful 1960s setting.