Wildlife

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Wildlife

PG-13

2018

1h 44m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

220 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a small town in the 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.

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Critics Consensus

Wildlife's portrait of a family in crisis is beautifully composed by director Paul Dano -- and brought brilliantly to life by a career-best performance from Carey Mulligan.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

02/29/2020

There's no shaking the feeling that this sort of study of all-American repression has been done to death.

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

01/03/2019

3/4

Few could play a character so ordinary with as much empathy as Oxenbould brings to the role. He's one to watch, here and in the future.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

11/17/2018

3.5/4

The jittery physicality of Mulligan's portrayal is frequently surprising.

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JD Duran

InSession Film

08/07/2024

Paul Dano’s direction is one of the most confident I’ve seen in recent years from a first-timer at the helm.

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Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

07/14/2024

4/5

It’s pretty to look at, and harbours strong visual storytelling alongside its top-notch acting.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/21/2022

4.5/5

“Wildlife” has such a strong emotional core, and even as a fiery metaphor burns on the horizon (I’ll let you discover it for yourselves) the film never loses its heart.

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Christian B.

@EL1TEcbom Feb 24

I was excited to watch this because I love Jake Gyllenhaal, but this was honest such a boring movie. I was actively struggling to keep my eyes on my screen. The only good part of the movie was the last 20 minutes, which also really wasn't that great. I wouldn't recommend this movie. The acting was good, but the story not so much.

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Heidi H.

@Pooterhead Feb 17

What a waste of my time and a stupid ending. I did feel sorry for the kid, but for me it was anticlimactic and boring

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Albert W

@CommonSenseAl Feb 14

Good movie if you want something on the depressing side.

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Meri S.

@mschroeder Jan 9

Poor Joe. He’s really put in the middle of his parents emotional breakdowns. Great acting. I’m surprised the actor who played Joe hasn’t been in more productions. He was fantastic.

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Robin P.

@AlexandraK Dec 28

Exceptionally quiet, unpretentious, intimate, personal, little film encompassing class, struggle, personal struggle, desperation. A Coming of Age film as seen from the eyes of a young Man who's whole basis of security and reality is crumbling as his parents marriage is falling apart. Brilliantly directed by Paul Dano, an actor I much admire for his roles in films such as There Will Be Blood.

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Joshua m

@Flameon Dec 24

Good acting all around, especially the young Ed Oxenbould.

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Paul Dano

Director

Carey Mulligan

Jeanette Brinson

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jerry Brinson

Ed Oxenbould

Joe Brinson

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Warren Miller

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Wildlife: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a small town in the 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.

Director: Paul Dano
Producer: Alex Saks, Paul Dano, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Andrew Duncan
Screenwriter: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: June Pictures, Nine Stories Productions, Sight Unseen Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|A Sexual Situation|Smoking|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.0M
Runtime: 1h 44m