Review of Wild (2014) by Charlotte N — 25 Jan 2015

Not that wild about Wild. It feels like it should be bigger than it is. And while there's a genuineness to the story (well, I'd want to hope so in a based-on-a-real-life story), and it's certainly watchable, it didn't strike me as "powerfully moving and emotionally resonant", nor deserve all the hype it's generated.

Each aspect of the journey and its trials seemed to be given too little airplay, so that the momentousness of it was lost - it was a journey of the mind, sure, but it feels incomplete, and the connection between the mental and physical isn't quite there.

The ending comes very abruptly, and I was left feeling as though nothing was resolved, and yet everything was. Some kind of weird limbo place, I guess. Overall, as one critic said ... it's just not a very interesting journey.

She's not that interesting a character (and a bit difficult to resonate with) and I didn't see a change in her really over the film. That, perhaps, is the worst part, because you're expecting a film about someone changing their life and you don't see the change at all, you just get three lines of narration at the end to tell you it happened.

Worth it for the scenery, the one funny joke, and the slightly awkward (and I'm sure unintentional) references to the Coyote Spirit Guide from The Simpsons. Otherwise, meh.