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Rapid Review: “Deep in the Heart” is a Beautiful Sight

Ben Master’s brilliantly captures the wildlife of Texas in the first ever nature documentary about the Lone Star State.

“Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story” is narrated by Texas native/ Academy Award winner, Matthew McConaughey. The film begins in the high plains and peaks of West Texas, flows along our many river systems, and concludes along the bay of the Gulf of Mexico. It showcases a variety of wildlife species ranging from mountain lions to the mysterious blind catfish.  Master’s vision is stunning, offering sharp and thrilling images that will consume audiences. Especially when we arrive at a heart-pounding hunt between a snake and bat.

It’s amazing we haven’t seen a doc like this about Texas before. The state has such diverse landscapes and unique creatures that deserve to be recognized. Though Masters excels at showing the beauty of our nature, his main goal is to inspire Texans to conserve what’s left of their wildlife. Encouraging water preservation and a plea to stop traps that are left in the wild to mangle animals who are unfortunate enough to get caught and left to die in the cruelest manner. That particular scene alone is enough to break your heart and seek change.

This isn’t a political documentary, it’s a humane one. “Deep in the Heart” is an immersive and breathtaking journey that powerfully portrays the importance of Texas’ conservation.

Rating: A

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Movie Review: “Wildlife” is a Frustrating Slow Burn

Sometimes there’s only so much a strong cast can do to make up for a story that drags. Wildlife creates some smoke but hardly ignites any flames.

Wildlife is based on the Richard Ford novel and directed by actor Paul Dano. Set in 1960s’ Montana, a young boy, Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould), quietly observes the gradual dissolution of his parent’s marriage. His father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), is an uncompromising and principled man of meager means, but Joe has strong admiration for his dad. His mother, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan), is more practical and driven. She is a conventional stay at home wife and mother. When Jerry loses his job and sees no other option than to sign up to fight wild fires, the dangerous undertaking separates him from his family for weeks at a time. Jeanette stays home and cuts as many corners as possible until she feels she has no other choice but to embark on an affair with her boss (Bill Camp).

I’m not going to lie, I think I made this film sound more interesting than it was from that previous paragraph. With the exception of the very beginning and the very end, the rest of the film is a whole lot of nothing. So much so that it’s hard to stay interested. Once Gyllenhaal’s character leaves his family, we are stuck in a story that feels like it will never end.

Though Mulligan’s performance in Wildlife is fantastic, her character is insufferable. There are times when you truly feel for her as a lonely mother trying to provide for her child, but it’s tough to stand by her during her affair and what she allows her son to witness. Oxenbould does a fine job as the naive, yet wide-eyed son and Gyllenhaal might have stood out more, if he was actually in the film for longer than 10 minutes. However, he creates a spark toward the end of the movie that might give audiences the jolt they need to get back into this narrative.

Though it may not seem like this, I don’t think that Wildlife is a “bad movie”.  It’s not.  It’s just not anything special.  The story-line feels deflated and it is extremely dragged out.  All the performances are solid, but that’s not enough to bring life into this film.

Rating: 2.5/5

Wildlife is in theaters now.

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