Director: Paul Dano
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp
Running Time: 104 minutes
Synopsis: In rural Montana of 1960, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses his golf course job, straining his marriage to Jeanette (Carey Mulligan). Their teenaged son Joe (Ed Oxenbould) observes his father slumping into a depression, forcing Jeanette to find employment as a swim instructor. Jerry then abandons the family altogether by accepting a low paying camp-based seasonal firefighting job, prompting Jeanette to welcome the attentions of auto dealership owner Miller (Bill Camp). Joe starts a part-time job at a photography studio and questions his role in this disintegrating family.
What Works Well: Paul Dano's directorial debut adapts Richard Ford's book into a thoughtful and beautifully acted drama centred on family unease, unmet expectations, and economic imperatives. The emotions are understated and organic, the script (co-written by Dano and Zoe Kazan) uncovering authentic emotions and grounded interactions, especially between an abandoned wife and her bewildered son. Diego Garcia's cinematography finds wonder in the Montana landscapes, and opts for a more static and quietly observational stance.
What Does Not Work As Well: The low-key story never threatens to expand beyond typical stresses fracturing a single small family, ultimately limiting the emotional resonance.
Key Quote:
Jeanette: I feel like I need to wake up, but I don't know what from or to.
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