Wild (Review)

Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Written by Nick Hornby

Reese Witherspoon delivers an Oscar Worthy Performance

Have you ever gone hiking by yourself and wondered how people can hike a hundred miles in a several days?  Wild is about Cheryl Strayed, Reese Witherspoon, who is determined to hike a thousand miles of Pacific Crest Trail to find her self redemption.  Reese Witherspoon is known for Legally Blonde and romantic comedy movies but it is so gratifying to see her break from those roles.  She is the star of the Wild and is the reason why the movie was so entertaining. Wild is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, director of Dallas Buyers Club.  Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay, and his film credits include About a Boy and Fever Pitch.   Wild is a deep meaningful journey that has peaks and valleys in its narrative.

Cheryl Strayed is on a downward spiral in her life.  The only way she feels like her life can be corrected is if she hikes a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.  She is a recovering heroine addict, adulteress in her recent marriage, and lost her mother to cancer in the past several years before she decided to take current journey.  The grief and pain are a constant burden to Cheryl and even force her to think about quitting and giving up on her quest.

Reese Witherspoon’s acting is the star of Wild.  Witherspoon lost weight and at times looked like a former heroine addict. She played a heartless bitch in the flashbacks. The flashbacks narrated her background. Witherspoon looked super distress most of the time and had internal dialogue that gave the audience a chance to hear what she was thinking. Witherspoon’s acting was superb when her character interacted with other characters during her hike. She was exceptionally magnificent with making the audience feel like her life is threated at times.  Witherspoon will probably get nominated for an Oscar for her performance. Her character’s background didn’t work in a cohesive narrative.

Wild has one huge issue and it is the flashbacks. The flashbacks in Cheryl’s narrative kill the film. The flashback narrative gives a lot of background information on her character. They provide the information on why she is hiking but enviably takes the audience out of the film with the cuts to the flashbacks so often. The flashback narrative was good but the writer and director cut to it so often when Witherspoon’s character was facing real tension in the present.

Wild is a good film about a woman overcoming her struggle in life. The scenery is beautiful and the director did wonderful pan shots of the scenic views on his hike. The flashbacks took me out of the film. Reese Witherspoon kept me invested in the film with her acting. She actually had bruises and lost weight while taking on his role. Wild gets a 4/5 from me.

If you seen Wild, what did you think? Comment below and let me. The Foxcatcher might be coming to my theater soon so I will review it if it comes to my theater.