"Wild" Review

Title: Wild

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee

Screenplay by: Nick Hornby

Year: 2014


Wild is a film that really isn't being talked about much. I only saw the trailer once in the theatres and I almost forgot about it. Almost. The trailer seemed interesting enough, which prompted me to go see it once it came to my area. I didn't really know what to expect going in but I walked surprised.

Wild tells the story of Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) as she travels over 1000 miles in order to personally deal with many issues in her life. I don't want to say anything more than that as the less you know about the film, the better. Wild is based on the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.

Reese Witherspoon heads the movie with an outstanding performance. This is one of the strongest lead female performances of 2014. For being such a distinguished actress, Witherspoon is almost unrecognizable in the role. I didn't Witherspoon, but rather her character, Cheryl Strayed. Cheryl didn't just decide to take a 1000 mile hike for the hell of it. She did so to get over many personal issues and Witherspoon captures such a wide range of emotions with remarkable results. Another great thing about her performance is that she is given minimal makeup. This makes the trek all the more believable as her hair isn't perfect and she doesn't look very clean and so forth. This might sound like a small point but many films get this wrong. The only other cast member worth mentioning is Laura Dern, who plays Cheryl's mother. Dern is very good in the role but has nowhere near the amount of screen time that Witherspoon does and as a result is completely out-shined by her.

Cheryl Strayed's true story is simply incredible. It sounds fictional and very Hollywood, being a bit reminiscent of that one sequence in Forrest Gump. Regardless, the story is very well done in the film. The movie has Cheryl hiking throughout with her backstory and motivation being told through flashbacks. Both Cheryl's hike and her backstory are interesting but if I had to pick one, I'd say the hiking scenes are better. They are just a little more engaging. That is not to downplay the flashbacks though, as they are the source of most the emotional moments in the film and the drama is really well done. We become emotionally attached to Cheryl and her mother, thanks to the strong performances and good writing. One of the best aspects of the story though is that it is believable. This actually happened. Cheryl is not portrayed as a perfect human being, and that's because she wasn't. Perfection is not relatable; imperfection is.

Credit has to go to the editing department for Wild. The film doesn't linger on the hiking scenes or the flashbacks for too long. They are interwoven wonderfully and as soon as one scene peaks in interest, the film transitions to another scene, keeping the audience engaged and attentive. This could have been a really sloppily edited movie. This film almost hinges on its editing in terms of quality. The quality of the editing would have determined the quality of the film. If the editing works, the film works. If it doesn't work, then neither does the movie.

The music is a bit odd but it works well for the movie. "Turn Away" is the most memorable song and it has a rather powerful application. All of the songs have a rustic and "traveling" vibe about them, which is very fitting for the movie. The cinematography is breathtaking at times. Yves Belanger captures the beauty of nature with awesome tracking and panning shots. This movie looks very good overall, thanks to the good direction by Vallee. The lighting of this film is also very interesting. It's incredibly hard to describe, but it looks a little rustic and worn, but still very well shot.

The emotional core of the film delivers strongly as we are brought into Cheryl's perspective, who is by no means a perfect individual. The audience sympathizes with Cheryl despite all the mistakes she has made. This is because, although she has made some terrible missteps, she is likable. Cheryl's journey to resolve her issues is very relatable as a matter of fact. Whenever someone needs to think, an often solution is to take a walk. Cheryl has a lot of thinking to do, and thus she has a long walk ahead of her. There is however a small problem with the film. The movie ends with Cheryl ending her hike and her emotional transformation culminates here. However, we do not get to see what happens afterward. We see that she has transformed, but not really how she has changed as a person. The change is apparent and clearly presented, but a bit of aftermath, for lack of a better term, would have been appreciated.

Wild is as much an emotional journey as it is a physical one. The film is perfectly paced, without ever meandering from the plot or remaining on a single scene for too long. Reese Witherspoon gives a fantastic performance, many of the shots of nature are gorgeous, and the emotion is heartfelt and relatable. The film could have benefitted from a few extra minutes showing Cheryl's transformation, but that's only a minor complaint. Wild will have the audience traveling with Cheryl and accompanying her in howling with the coyotes.

Grade: A-