Review of Wild (2014) by Maksim B — 23 Nov 2015

An emotional and unconventional survival movie, Wild combines a powerhouse performance by Reese Witherspoon, terrific cinematography and honest, engaging personal story. Despite the certain level of predictability, the story is loaded with an engaging personal drama and personal re-discovery, which would keep intrigued the viewers searching for a quality filmmaking.

However, if approached from a mainstream perspective by impatient audiences, Wild would be considered quite disappointing and boring. Therefore it is important that one watches this movie with the right expectations. Typically for director Jean-Marc Vallee, he does not go for the obvious messages, for the easy-to-chew character build-up and easy to follow bottom-line. Wild is full of pain and sorrow, filled with the hopelessness of being lost in the world and luckily finishes with a glimpse of hope which would make you feel just fine in the end. The movie lacks the impact on the audiences which Dallas Buyers Club had, simply because it is a much more personal experience than any other story told by Vallee, but nevertheless it is a touching small story which would resonate with you and would make you think about your own being.

Give Wild a try, but approach it with the necessary, gentle caution as this is certainly not a movie for everyone.