15 Best Hidden Gem Movies Of 2018

8. Wildlife

Paul Dano's directorial debut was always going to be an interesting one, and in many ways the actor-turned-filmmaker's first feature is exactly what you'd expect. It's a film almost entirely built around the performances of its three leads, all inhabiting a family on the verge of collapse, highlighting an astonishing Carey Mulligan in particular as an against-type disgruntled wife.

In fact, she's the anchor of the whole flick, with the drama resting on every little inflection, every performance-within-a-performance of someone trying and failing to be the perfect 1960s housewife. Like the wildfires that act as the film's visually-inspired backdrop, the family drama in Wildlife isn't about explosive moments (though there are a couple of those), but rather the gradual - and total - destructive force of broken trust, emotional miscommunication and trying to fix relationship problems without directly addressing them.

There's no one person to really blame for any of the terrible things that happen to this family, but that's why it's so devastating. There's no inciting incident that starts the decline, no easy solution to pinpoint, just a series of destructive acts committed by two parents that Dano brilliantly filters through the eyes of a child caught in the crossfire.