Wildlife

Wildlife (2018) is a quiet drama you can watch online on iFILM. It marks the directing debut of actor Paul Dano, adapted from Richard Ford's novel about a family quietly coming apart in early-1960s Montana.

The whole film sits behind the eyes of fourteen-year-old Joe. His father, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, loses his job at a golf course and, chasing some lost sense of purpose, leaves to fight a wildfire burning near the Canadian border. That leaves his mother Jeanette, played by Carey Mulligan, alone with their son. Her attempts to build a different life carry bitterness, fear and resentment all at once. Joe just watches the adults he trusted stop being the people he knew.

Mulligan does the heavy lifting here, playing a woman who earns your sympathy and unease in the same breath. Dano shoots it with restraint, holding on faces while the silences say more than the lines do. It's grown-up, understated work for anyone who loves family drama without the melodramatic swells. Stream Wildlife (2018) online on iFILM.