Paul Dano is an eclectic actor, capable of giving face and soul to very different characters, from Bezuchov’s War and peace and Brian Wilson of Love & mercy, in productions that span the entire spectrum of US cinema, from Little Miss Sunshine a The oilman. And he is also a coherent actor because in his interpretations, even of over-the-top characters, he always manages to bring out human aspects that reach everyone. Certainly his Riddler in Batman by Matt Reeves (the one with Robert Pattinson) will be very different from the one brought to the screen by Jim Carrey in Batman forever. Dano will also star in the US remake of the Danish film The guilty (available on PrimeVideo), which will be directed by Antoine Fuqua.
In 2018 Dano also made his directorial debut with Wildlife (now available on Netflix), a small family drama written with his partner Zoe Kazan, presented at the Sundance film festival and winner of the award for best film at the Turin film festival. Wildlife is set in 1960, in a small Montana town where Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) just moved in with their 14-year-old son Joe (Ed Oxenbould). Jerry is unable to keep yet another job and decides to leave with the volunteers who fight against the fires that plague the forests not far from the city every year. Jeanette, also willing to start working again to keep the family together, does not take it well at all. Joe tries to do his part but is forced to take a close look at the parents taking divergent routes.
The small family unit falls apart and each spectator can decide who to identify with, which side to stand on, which frustration to prefer. The story is told from Joe’s point of view and, even if the parents spare him nothing, it is easy to understand why the writers point to him in search of a fixed point. In all this there is room for a small but significant role of Bill Camp, an actor who never betrays the viewer. Dano, consistent in his choices even as a director, never raises the tone but still manages to touch us. Perfect Carey Mulligan, who seems destined always and in any case to unhappiness, and Jake Gyllenhaal, a dog who prefers to beat himself rather than bite.
Beyond the implications on the b-side of the American dream and a little something on the determination with which in the United States we try to impose a rigid scheme even in the presence of the most hostile nature, Wildlife it made me feel a great nostalgia for festivals: Turin of course, but for all film festivals, occasions which those who love cinema should take advantage of as much as possible. Despite the red areas, the machine of cultural events went on with great difficulty. On Sunday, for example, the thirtieth edition of African, Asian and Latin American Cinema in Milan closes, taking place completely online. As in many other festivals, this year you can subscribe and watch films online, even far from Milan. Fantastic, democratic. Then we lose that unity of place and that compressed and suspended time that is a characteristic of events of this genre, which are cinema, of course, but also community.
Wildlife
By Paul Dano. With Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp. United States 2018, 105 ‘. On Netflix.
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