Wildlife ★★★★1/2
Paul Dano, one of the most soulful and intense actors of his generation, has appeared in a number of films over the last decade in which rupture and dysfunction serve to undermine a family unit. In Little Miss Sunshine (2006) he famously played the voluntarily mute Dwayne, while the elegant and underrated For Ellen (2012) is another meditation on family that sees Dano’s character struggle between his ambition as a musician and his duty to his child. You could even argue that Love & Mercy (2014), with Dano excelling as Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, is at least in part the tale of personal relationships imploding within the family-like structure of a band.
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