Wildlife (2018)

Directed by: Paul Dano | 104 minutes | drama | Actors: Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, Travis W Bruyer, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Tom Huston Orr, Bill Camp, Darryl Cox, Ginger Gilmartin, Michael Gibbons

The early 1960s were the years of the universal American dream: family happiness with the husband as the breadwinner and the wife behind the stove of a detached house, which stands on the spot where work was found. In the case of ‘Wildlife’ it is the state of Montana, where Jerry (Gyllenhaal) has a job on a golf course. And loses, and disappears to regain his manhood elsewhere. Jerry is the largely absent protagonist; Wildlife is mainly the story of 14-year-old Joe (Oxenbould) and his mother Jean (Mulligan), an enterprising woman who manages to make ends meet after hubby’s departure, but slowly fragments in the sequel.

As a Hopperian staged image of the time, ‘Wildlife’ is enough to enjoy, but mother’s emancipatory breakdown is the most pressing. The woman behind the stove initially flourishes as a swimming instructor, but moves privately on a cynical love path, with her son as chaperone. Jerry’s hard-earned Cadillac is still there, but is being used for loveless sex with a rich old man (Camp) who also knows better. “Do you know anything better?” Mother says to son, the only confidant in her life. Joe doesn’t know either. The blue teen is more responsible than his parents, and can’t handle that responsibility yet.

Not much new from a plot point of view; ‘Wildlife’ knows how to surprise with skill. Love is cold, but there is nothing better, shows the debuting Dano through the excellent Mulligan. She has harvest years ahead of her in these kinds of roles. When Jerry finally returns, we first see a Greyhound stop with no one getting out, then we see Joe running to a taxi and hugging his father. Joe has to face all the fights that follow, and Gyllenhaal is unwittingly overplayed by Mulligan. Jean has lost her respect for Jerry, and goes her own way. As selfish as Jerry who lost his self-esteem and went his own way.