 based on the novel by richard ford wildlife follows joe brinson a 14yearold boy who moved to great falls montana with his parents in the year 1960 joe s mother jeanette is fed up with her absent husband who cannot hold a job and her eyes wander to warren miller a local autoshop mogul warren is a welcoming presence in jeanette s life which causes tension in the family joe is forced to watch the inevitable unravelling of his parents marriage as his mother begins an affair with the new man in her life wildlife stars academy award nominees jake gyllenhaal and carey mulligan as well as breakthrough actor ed oxenbould paul dano s directorial debut film was nominated in 2018 for the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival a golden camera nomination at the cannes film festival as well as a people s choice award nomination at the toronto international film festival adapted by paul dano and zoe kazan wildlife features stunning cinematography and dramatic storytelling paul dano  