REVIEW: WILD
Awards season has kicked off! The Critic's Choice, SAGs and Golden Globe nominations have all been announced, and there have been several consistencies in those three! One is the presence of Reese Witherspoon, someone who hasn't led a good movie since her Oscar-winning turn in Walk the Line. Call it an Oscar curse, but fare like This Means War and Water for Elephants have plagued her career since the Academy Award win. Last year she came back as the object of McConaughey's affection in the amazing Mud, but Wild sees her anchoring an entire film, mostly, and I know this backpacking pun will come up a lot, on her shoulders. Buh dun tss.
Wild is based on Cheryl Strayed's account of her travels on the Pacific Coast Trail. I was very much unfamiliar with her adventures, and though this might say something about me, I only knew it from seeing it in Borders (this was a while ago after all) as an Oprah Book Club book. Witherspoon's performance has been repeatedly lauded, and is a surefire nominee, because this is one of the year's standout movies, and she's responsible for the bulk of it! Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was that the movie is so grounded.
By grounded I don't mean Witherspoon spends a lot of her time onscreen trekking ground (buh dun tss), but that it isn't more focused on the hike itself than it is the motivations of it. Cheryl does have some close calls and dangerous encounters with sketchy men, but their all told realistically. Cheryl's a beautiful woman, and the movie keenly shows how this comes to her advantage and disadvantage: because this woman is alone in the woods on her hike, and automatically either A. is out in these here woods searching for a man or B. must've been lost and by helping her out she'll return the favor. Cheryl's called the Queen by her fellow hikers because of the effect she has on folks.
This is not an easy lady to peg. With a troubled past of an abusive dad, a sick mother (the extraordinarily wonderful Laura Dern, who brings an airy optimism to her role, and deserves some Oscar attention) and a series of very poor decisions that result in drug use, promiscuity and some unflattering bangs. For the bright, promising young woman we see in these flashbacks, its cringeworthy to see Cheryl waster her life away. Witherspoon's vulnerable, determined performance shows Cheryl coming to terms with these memories she's sought to repress, her occasional agony with her hike and genuine relief when her fellow hikers come to her aide, and she can let loose for a while.
My only beefs are with the film's fairly obvious attempts to pull at your heartstrings, one moment comes to mind featuring a little boy singing that's trying very hard to yank tears from your eyes. But Witherspoon's moments and chemistry with Dern are so endearing they didn't need to add that. What they did need to add? An ending that didn't finish the movie like it was a SparkNotes of Strayed's life within the last 30 seconds. It felt rushed, even though the closing shot is one that will stick with you for a while, Cheryl's last bit of advice reverberating as the credits close. With Wild and Dallas Buyers Ckub, director Jean-Marc Vallee has shown his ability to expose the inner workings and humanity of the real-life, seemingly average folks he examines in extreme situations. If you take some creative editing, a sublime pair of performances and tons of gorgeous cinematography, you get a film that's wildly watchable, and a fascinating character study of a woman who wants more than anything to find herself on an 1100 mile journey.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
Wild is based on Cheryl Strayed's account of her travels on the Pacific Coast Trail. I was very much unfamiliar with her adventures, and though this might say something about me, I only knew it from seeing it in Borders (this was a while ago after all) as an Oprah Book Club book. Witherspoon's performance has been repeatedly lauded, and is a surefire nominee, because this is one of the year's standout movies, and she's responsible for the bulk of it! Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was that the movie is so grounded.
This is not an easy lady to peg. With a troubled past of an abusive dad, a sick mother (the extraordinarily wonderful Laura Dern, who brings an airy optimism to her role, and deserves some Oscar attention) and a series of very poor decisions that result in drug use, promiscuity and some unflattering bangs. For the bright, promising young woman we see in these flashbacks, its cringeworthy to see Cheryl waster her life away. Witherspoon's vulnerable, determined performance shows Cheryl coming to terms with these memories she's sought to repress, her occasional agony with her hike and genuine relief when her fellow hikers come to her aide, and she can let loose for a while.
My only beefs are with the film's fairly obvious attempts to pull at your heartstrings, one moment comes to mind featuring a little boy singing that's trying very hard to yank tears from your eyes. But Witherspoon's moments and chemistry with Dern are so endearing they didn't need to add that. What they did need to add? An ending that didn't finish the movie like it was a SparkNotes of Strayed's life within the last 30 seconds. It felt rushed, even though the closing shot is one that will stick with you for a while, Cheryl's last bit of advice reverberating as the credits close. With Wild and Dallas Buyers Ckub, director Jean-Marc Vallee has shown his ability to expose the inner workings and humanity of the real-life, seemingly average folks he examines in extreme situations. If you take some creative editing, a sublime pair of performances and tons of gorgeous cinematography, you get a film that's wildly watchable, and a fascinating character study of a woman who wants more than anything to find herself on an 1100 mile journey.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
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