Paul Dano On Directing ‘Wildlife’, The Mood of Paul Thomas Anderson Sets, & Carey Mulligan’s Greatness [Podcast]

Of all the ways to describe Carey Mulligan’s riveting performance in “Wildlife,” perhaps only Paul Dano would think to call it a “weather system.” The “Wildlife” director and co-writer knows well the nexus of uneasy forces at home in Mulligan’s Jeanette Brinson. She spends the middle act of Dano’s 1960 period drama (which he adapted from a Richard Ford novel with his partner Zoe Kazan) living in a suspended reality.

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Jeannette has been abandoned by her husband Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) and, in turn, undertakes a new life in double time — that of a single woman who put a few of her fantasies on hold for a more traditional American one, until now. She’s not afraid to let her 14-year-old son Joe (Ed Oxenbould) know it either, and the resulting performance from Mulligan is as reactionary as it is precise, charged from somewhere deep within and catalyzed by the swirling new circumstances around her — a weather system, if you will. Even if you won’t, it’s one of the best pieces of acting from 2018.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2018

Dano, of course, has an entire career in front of the camera to know how demanding and rare such a performance is. Mulligan’s acting is just one of the topics we spoke about back in October when Dano appeared on Be Reel. He also talks some smack about establishing shots and shares what he learned about running sets from Steve McQueen and Paul Thomas Anderson.

READ MORE: Carey Mulligan Talks ‘Wildlife,’ Not F*cking Up, Playing A Frightening Character & More [Interview]

Let’s also let this re-run interview serve as a second hello to you, The Playlist reader. My podcast partner Noah Ballard and I are thrilled our genre-hopping show, Be Reel, is now coming out every other week on The Playlist Podcast Network. Thus far in the partnership, we’ve dove into the best work of the late William Goldman, analyzed the peculiar place comedy films found themselves in 2018, and the legacy of enclosed-space thrillers. Be on the lookout next week for a show on the M. Night Shyamalan cinematic universe.

So listen below. And go watch “Wildlife.” It’s newly available for VOD just about everywhere.