After the discretion of Wendy and Lucy Kelly Reichardt surprised us with her own take on the Western genre: intensely focused, fascinatingly observant, and loaded with portent. It continues Reichardt’s rich partnership with Michelle Williams, but it is Bruce Greenwood as Meek who steals the show.

Discontent with mid-century domesticity, a couple flee its demands, throwing their son prematurely into the mess of adult affairs. Wildlife may be his first film as director and screenwriter, yet Paul Dano comes close to the heights of Greek tragedy in this tale of the nuclear family in crisis.