Review of Wild (2014) by Akshay H — 22 Feb 2015
A partially satisfying journey of self-realization.
There have been many movies about a person wandering into the woods alone where the person undergoes a inner-transformation. While, Wild is not quite an outstanding film but I felt was certainly worth a watch. Wild tells us the chronicles of Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) a woman who decided to go on 1,100 miles hike on Pacific Crest Trail alone. We have no clear cut idea why she undertakes such a difficult task until halfway into the film. The reason gets unveiled slowly with strings of flashbacks of Cheryl's memories with her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) and husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski). It seems Cheryl is in a distraught state and has no idea what do with her troubled life when she starts her journey. The journey, which tests her limits and gives us some lessons of life.
The story may seem quite straightforward and simplistic, yet there is enough depth given to psychological study of the characters. Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of Cheryl is worthy of the Oscar nomination as she carries the weight of the film like the 'monster' bag she carries on the hike. Laura Dern also received an Oscar nomination for supporting actress. Her screen time was surprisingly less but she is great in every shot. The imagery of the hike trails is very beautiful and worth a mention. The music and sound is apt for the wilderness shown. On the contrary, the dialogues are not very uplifting as the theme of the film. The random 'quotes' which Cheryl puts up every now feel bit too repetitive just like the lot of unnecessary abusing in the script. There is over-abundance of sentimentality thrown in with no strong substance to back it up. By the end, it slightly felt like emotionally manipulative journey instead of a satisfying one. Also, I felt the film is 20-25 minutes longer and could have been more effective is with better editing. Overall, Wild gave me mixed feelings but strong performances by Reese and Laura made me like it more.
RATING: [3/5].
This review of Wild (2014) was written by Akshay H on 22 Feb 2015.
Wild has generally received positive reviews.
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