Wildlife

After watching its teenage protagonist navigate some especially tricky emotional territory, you can theorize about Paul Dano’s attraction to Wildlife for his directorial debut.

The domestic drama features the type of withdrawn and introspective youngster Dano (There Will Be Blood) might have played in his younger years, not to mention some weighty material about middle-class poverty and the effects of marital strife on children.

Those common themes are given fresh perspective in this evocative, melancholy adaptation of a Richard Ford novel in which some terrific performances balance out an uneven script that’s sometimes difficult to penetrate.

It takes place in 1960, when teenage loner Joe (Ed Oxenbould) moves to Great Falls, Montana, where his father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), starts a new job as a golf course greenskeeper — keeping him involved with his favorite hobby.

He’s fired, then refuses a rehire offer out of personal pride. That leaves the family in a tough spot, causing Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) to take a part-time job as a swim instructor and revealing some volatility within their relationship.

Jerry eventually takes a dangerous job fighting wildfires, which keeps him apart from Jeanette and Joe for months. As Jeanette’s behavior becomes erratic and her commitment level turns ambivalent, Joe handles the uncertainty with begrudging optimism.

Dano demonstrates filmmaking confidence in the way he unconventionally favors reaction shots during critical exchanges of dialogue, relying on his actors to interpret the dense material through their body language and facial expressions rather than simply reading lines.

The multilayered screenplay by Dano and his real-life partner, actress Zoe Kazan, is deliberately paced and hardly uplifting, yet it doesn’t wallow in despair, either. That’s due in part to Oxenbould (The Visit), who provides an awkward if even-keeled emotional anchor amid the chaos around Joe.

However, some of the impulsive choices of its socioeconomically struggling adult characters strain credibility, and seem designed to artificially challenge our sympathies rather than offer scenarios that are more authentic and resonant.

That’s where the actors shine, especially Mulligan (The Great Gatsby), who channels Jeanette’s increasingly hostile, borderline unstable passive aggression into a nuanced look at how oppression and betrayal lead to desperation.

Wildlife effectively captures its setting, with the picturesque scenery providing a backdrop for some ugliness beneath the surface. It also provides an understated spotlight for talent on both side of the camera.

Rated PG-13, 104 minutes.