Wild-2014

Director Jean-Marc Vallee

Starring Reese Witherspoon

Scott’s Review #249

Reviewed June 21, 2015

Grade: B+

Wild (2014) is a personal story of a young woman’s 1995 challenge to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail as a form of therapy for her divorce and her recovery from drug addiction.

The film stars Reese Witherspoon in a thoughtful biography of a real-life figure, Cheryl Strayed, and is adapted from a novel entitled Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Trail.

The film depicts Cheryl’s struggles to survive in remote northern California through harsh weather and her encounters with strangers.

The film is a showcase for Witherspoon as she takes center stage, appearing in almost every frame of the film.

Her producing the project undoubtedly contributes to this. Regardless, it is a winning turn for Witherspoon as she is excellent.

She portrays the role with vigor, emotional rawness, and vulnerability, which comes across on-screen.

She deserved her Oscar nomination for this part.

What sets her apart from other actresses who may have played this role is that Witherspoon is a small, which makes her physical struggle to navigate trails and wilderness while hauling a large backpack of necessities believable.

Through flashbacks of Cheryl’s life before the enormous hike, we are introduced to her and the challenges she faced. We know that she is a recovering addict, but we do not know what led to these events.

Living in Minneapolis, she is very close to her mother, Bobbi, played by Laura Dern, who tragically dies.

This leads Cheryl down a path of destructive behavior and ultimately to her divorce from her husband, Paul, who periodically sends her care packages along the way.

Cheryl’s bond with her mother, a struggling woman herself, is deep. Bobbi struggles to raise a family and improve her education and life, which the flashback scenes featuring Cheryl as a teenager explore.

I love the encounters Cheryl faces along the trail, and I feel they add depth to the film.

Few and far between are these gems of interchange since she is mostly alone with nature, and the characters are interesting. Alone in the dark and desperate for a meal, she flags down a farmer named Frank.

At first, Frank seems dangerous and wields a gun, so Cheryl is wary as she goes home with him for dinner. Happily, Frank is married to a kindhearted woman named Annette, and the three of them enjoy a lovely feast.

Later, she encounters a young boy whose mother has died. They bond as the boy sings a song his mother used to sing to him, and when he leaves, Cheryl sobs with emotion for her mother.

These small snippets of real-life conversations and togetherness make the film feel happy, and we root for Cheryl to accomplish her enormous feat.

Thanks to a bravura performance by Witherspoon, Wild (2014) is much more than a woman surviving on her own in the wilderness. It is encased in quiet emotion and understated supporting performances that give layers to a human story.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Reese Witherspoon, Best Supporting Actress-Laura Dern