Review 342: Wild

Wild is a visceral, mesmerising, gutrenching biographical, adventure drama film and a fascinating character study-all powered by a sturdy, bravura performance by Reese Witherspoon.

Based on the memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trial by Cheryl Strayed, In 1995, Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) decides to hike a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trial as a way of seeking self-discovery and resolution of her enduring grief and personal challenges including her divorce, death of her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) and years of reckless and destructive behaviour.

The plot is a masterpiece, in parts it's the story about a mother and a daughter but at the core of it all, it's essentially a story about a woman who walks herself back to life.
Believe it or not, in the summer of 1995, Cheryl Strayed actually hiked the PCT when she was 26 and it was very much a spiritual journey, letting go of romantic love and really coming to terms with the death of her mother.
It's about how when something in your life happens that leaves you completely broken, you have to find a way to reconstitute yourself and she did just that, Cheryl Strayed could have gone down further into the rabbit hole - and she didn't she pulled herself out. It's quite an inspirational movie really.

Another thing, I really liked about this movie is that it's a very realistic film, we really get to see deep down into the soul of Cheryl Strayed. This is mostly down to Jean-Marc Vallee's direction and Reese Witherspoon's breathtaking performance, we feel Cheryl's pain as she walks along the PCT, we sense her inner demons as she tries to let go of the past, we feel her frustration as she struggles to survive in the wild and as a result I really got the sense of what it must have been like for Cheryl Strayed to have done this hike in real life. It was great to watch her take an emotional or physical blow and still be able to get up again and keep going. It was very painful but at the same time really inspiring to watch.    

Director Jean-Marc Vallee's direction is precise, the soundtrack is mystical, the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty, the wildness and the loneliness of the PCT, the scenery is breathtaking, the locations are marvellous, the costumes are rugged and gritty (and get the film's tone right) and the production design (capturing the beauty of the towns Cheryl encounters on her trek of the PCT as well as 1995 Miniosota) is terrific.

The acting is tremendous, though really Reese Witherspoon delivers a tour de force performance playing Cheryl Strayed. She carries the majority of the film, which is basically a one woman show, on her shoulders. She absolutely owns this movie and this role, she beautifully captures the vulnerability, the determination as well as the inner demons of Cheryl, the way she takes a hit and keeps on going is just staggering.
Watching Witherspoon in this role, even though this is a true story, I was reminded strongly of the emotional journey Sandra Bullock's Ryan Stone in Gravity went one. she goes on a journey full of metaphoric adversities and still chooses to keep moving forward with her plan to cross the PCT which is so admirable.
She pulls it off expertly.

Another actress who I thought was excellent in the film was Laura Dern as Barbara "Bobi" Grey, Cheryl's mother, she was abused by her husband and they didn't have that much money in the family or very good living styles but she loved Cheryl and did her best to raise her, her relationship with Cheryl is one of the most genuine and touching mother/daughter relationship ever portrayed in the movies.

Also, the rest of the cast is terrific.    

Wild is a wild ride, both physically and mentally, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.