Paul Dano’s directorial debut, “Wildlife,” has been making the rounds with major film festivals in early 2018, premiering at this year’s Sundance and also having a marquee spot during the Cannes Film Festival, recently. Now, IFC is giving the drama a proper release in the US, and we have the first trailer.
READ MORE: Carey Mulligan Shines In Emotionally Distant ‘Wildlife’ [Sundance Review]
“Wildlife” follows a quote-unquote nuclear family in 1960s Montana. With the father, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, recently losing his job and venturing away from the family to find work, his wife Jeanette, played by Carey Mulligan is left to figure out everything else, with their 14-year-old son. As seen in the trailer, “Wildlife” is very much a drama, as you see the young boy witnessing the dissolution of his parents’ marriage right before his eyes.
The film was co-written by Dano and Zoe Kazan, and also stars Ed Oxenbould and Bill Camp.
“Wildlife” is set to hit theaters on October 19.
Here’s the official synopsis:
IFC Films presents WILDLIFE, the directorial debut of Paul Dano (THERE WILL BE BLOOD, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE), co-written along with Zoe Kazan (THE BIG SICK). Elegantly adapted from Richard Ford’s novel of the same name, Carey Mulligan (MUDBOUND, AN EDUCATION) delivers one of her finest performances to date as Jeanette, a complex woman whose self-determination and self-involvement disrupts the values and expectations of a 1960s nuclear family. Fourteen-year-old Joe played by newcomer Ed Oxenbould, is the only child of Jeanette (Mulligan) and Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal)—a housewife and a golf pro—in a small town in 1960s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages close to the Canadian border, and when Jerry loses his job—and his sense of purpose—he decides to join the cause of fighting the fire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves. Suddenly forced into the role of an adult, Joe witnesses his mother’s struggle as she tries to keep her head above water. With precise details and textures of its specific time and place, WILDLIFE commits to the viewpoint of a teenage boy observing the gradual dissolution of his parents’ marriage. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and will also screened as the opening night film in La Semaine de la Critique at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. WILDLIFE will be released by IFC Films on October 19, 2018.