Reese Witherspoon
Laura Dern
Thomas Sadoski
Michiel Huisman
Gaby Hoffmann

Nick Hornby

115 mins.
Biography, Drama
December 19, 2014

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, drug use, and language. (MPAA)

Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Wild,” based on a true story, is about Cheryl Strayed, a woman who decides to face her demons by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). She wants to become “the woman that her mother raised.” In the film, that doesn’t come across as hokey as it sounds. But it doesn’t land fully either. It doesn’t give you a lump in your throat, make your mouth dry, sock you in the gut. The reason is that this film takes on two different forms.

One form pertains to when Strayed, expertly portrayed by Reese Witherspoon, is alone in the wild. Her memories are triggered by various things: a song, a horse, a book, etc. Once she’s triggered, we’re shown what she’s remembering via flashback. While I liked the cutting from scene to scene (sharply done), I never felt fully connected to the film or to her character during the actual moments. I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. This was not the fault of the acting. It was the film’s structure. The flashbacks had a dream-like quality that didn’t deepen the story in the way that they should have.

That could have been fixed if those moments were fully integrated into this film’s other form: when Strayed encounters other people along the trail. Those moments had life. While all of the scenes in this film had a loose quality, that quality worked best at those times. That’s when all of Witherspoon’s work was supported. She wonderfully conveyed the loneliness and fear of her character while responding naturally to the people she encountered. She let those people into her story, thereby letting the audience into the story, as well. It was as if we were there with them on the trail.

If Vallée had fully integrated those encounters with the flashbacks, then this film would have soared. He would have been able to explore loneliness in both a literal and a figurative sense. Of course we need to see Strayed on her own, but not as much. This film was most interesting when it hinted at loneliness in the presence of others. It wasn’t a harsh loneliness, though. That’s what was so good about it. It was much more natural than that.

In addition to Witherspoon, the rest of the cast is equally present and open. Nothing is forced – I’ll give the director some credit for that. For instance, Laura Dern, as Witherspoon’s mother, is as she always is – warm, effortless, and curious. The cast finds moments of humor (when a reporter interviews Strayed for “The Hobo Times,” for instance) and candor that’s beautiful to watch. I just wish that their work had even more of an impact.

Overall, “Wild” has a lot of good stuff. But it doesn’t transcend; it doesn’t stick to your bones.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: wild)

In Wild, director Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club), Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Nick Hornby (An Education) bring bestselling author Cheryl Strayed’s extraordinary adventure to the screen. After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Strayed makes a rash decision.  Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi (Academy Award nominee Laura Dern) and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own.  WILD powerfully reveals her terrors and pleasures –as she forges ahead on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.