Review of Wild (2014) by Jessica T — 23 Jan 2015

Wild's a fun little biopic that involves death, heroine, hardship, walking, some more walking, a little bit more walking and a tiny bit more walking. It's a punishing film that never really pays off in any big way, nor does it ever fully engross the viewer. It's just kind of there. Sure, it's adequately acted and shot, but it's hastily edited and fit with a screenplay that isn't entirely coherent at numerous points, and lacks proper direction. It's an entertaining escapade at for much of its running time, and is most certainly capable of being something admired, but it never really grasps the potential which it most obviously contains.

Driven to the edge by the loss of her beloved mother (Laura Dern), the dissolution of her marriage and a headlong dive into self-destructive behavior, Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) makes a decision to halt her downward spiral and put her life back together again. With no outdoors experience, a heavy backpack and little else to go on but her own will, Cheryl sets out alone to hike the Pacific Crest Trail -- one of the country's longest and toughest through-trails. Credit to Google for summary.

Wild starts off with a fantastic scene. We see Reese Witherspoon's Cheryl Strayed in a rather dire predicament. She's lost her two boots, and has to resort to crafting her own footwear. She screams and shouts at the vast canyon that lies beneath and beyond her. Her anger and rage is a shocking beginning to a film which looks promising; one can not help but be impressed immediately. It's after this that Wild starts to drift. We don't have much score in the next few scenes; we just see Sheryl beginning her long and arduous trip, and struggling with her large pack. She encounters minor issues, introduces us to characters who we will come to know well by the end of the film (some more so than others) and tries to act nicely to those who aid her in her journey or are simply passing by, despite her obviously flustered and angry state. Reese Witherspoon is fantastic to watch; an actress who commands screen presence, even in her most quiet moments. We see a few flashbacks to times gone before, and the life of Sheryl before her monstrous trek. They are initially sparse in quantity, and help flesh out this otherwise troubled woman.

And this is about when the movie starts to veer into both uncomfortable, unnecessary and plain poor direction. The central story featuring Sheryl travelling is sidelined for surprisingly long periods as we cut back to before her mother, played by the fantastic Laura Dern, dies. We see her unraveling as a human being; as a wife; as a daughter. The biggest problem is that these sections feel immensely forced, and drag away from the meat of the film; you can eat the flesh, but the real quality comes in the bulk of the meat. The problem with Wild is that it indulge in too much flesh, which is meant to flesh out Sheryl's being, but eventually becomes tedious and irritating. The flashbacks are also poorly edited together, so not only are the transitions from time periods disjointed and abrupt, but they document all manner of situations and times, and they don't always fit together properly. What's worse, some of these flashbacks incur yet more flashbacks; there are literally flashbacks inside of flashbacks. Insert Inception joke here.

It's not necessarily just these scenes which irritate and take the viewer out of the film. The entire trek itself is never really that compelling, and it never made me feel as if I was properly engaging with what was happening. I was just a guy sitting in a cinema watching the story unfold. There are moments of distress and beauty, but none of them necessarily get you feeling overtly involved with the film. I mean, Witherspoon and the supporting ensemble try here, all so very hard; the director as well, Jean-Marc Vallée, who directed the fantastic Dallas Buyer's Club a few years back, attempts to draw you into this story. None of them can truly overcome the flaws of the screenplay though; a screenplay which never really seemed to capture me.

But Wild is not truly a bad film, despite my harsh criticisms above. This is a story full of bravery, beauty and scope, and features numerous moments of utter power and emotion. Sheryl's interactions with those she meets on the road are both concerning and appreciated, these moments of unexpected friendship and/or fear resonating with the viewer perfectly. Not only can Sheryl relate to the plights of her fellow hikers that she meets, but so can we, and that can only be a good thing. I reiterate; the performances, Witherspoon especially, are all immensely good. Everyone gives there all to a story which perhaps isn't as engrossing nor as coherent as one would desire, but nevertheless somewhat entertaining.

It's hard to award a negative rating to Wild, so I shan't. I genuinely enjoyed myself the majority of its running time, despite the vast quantity of flaws present. So sure, I may have shat on the film virtually this entire review, but to award as ambitious and visually splendid a film as this a negative rating considering my experience is bogus. Wild stumbles commonly, and never really finds perfect foot holes whilst climbing the mountain of its own aspirations, but for all its failures, it's still a film which manages to convey the emotion of the true story it tells, whilst also engaging in thematic material which shall relate to many a human being; especially those who aren't entirely sure where their life may be going. This is an uplifting, if not heavily faulted exploit that should entertain, but never fully capture.