Review of Wild (2014) by Nightreviews — 07 Dec 2014

It seems like there is no better way of finding yourself, than by losing yourself completely.

Such is the case with Reese Witherspoon’s newest feature Wild, based on the widely popular New York Times Best Seller and Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 favourite “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” written by Cheryl Strayed.

Wild is based on a memoir, and Strayed did in fact trek the whole 1,100 mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail all by herself, and tells a compelling story of survival, wit and true courage, but never is her story original enough for us to really care. Overplayed images of crossing bridges, promises of clean slates and new life, as well as images of iconic natural beauty and wildlife, are some of the reasons Wild never quite settles in with audiences, as it should.

Witherspoon, who dropped out of Tim Burton’s Big Eyes (a role that eventually went to Amy Adams) may have found another passion project and Oscar-caliber character as Strayed. Embodying a troubled young woman who struggled with heroin, constant adultery and the tragic death of her loving and inspiration mother Bobbi (played saintly by the radiant Laura Dern), Witherspoon easily transcends through the screen and into our hearts as a highly empathetic character. Is Strayed a drug addict? Sex addict? Rehabilitating feminist? Many of these questions aren’t really answered by the film’s end or in the countless flashbacks (that easily takes up an alarming amount the film’s runtime) of Strayed highly traumatizing and delicate life, which poses some of the many problems of the film as a whole.

Quebecois filmmaker and go-to Oscar caliber actors-director Jean Marc-Vallée, who helped Matthew McConaughey complete his A-List status as Ronald Woodruff in the highly appreciated Dallas Buyers Club, helms Witherspoon in a highly clichéd and simple narrative where a woman’s only choice and answer for change, is nature. Cue scenes of Strayed connecting with the wildlife by howling with the nearby wolves, numerous shots of her looking up and talking to herself as well as some of the most over-quoted identity passages ever written by Emily Dickenson, Ralph Waldo Emerson and of course Robert Frost, and Wild sinks in the footsteps of other memorable identity finding nature films.

One film in particular that comes to mind, released just last year, is John Curran’s Tracks starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver. Not only does the film tell the story of Robyn Davidson, an author and true living bohemian who conquered the 1,700 mile journey along the west Australian deserts with four camels and a trusty sidekick canine, but Curran offers audiences an audacious and highly inspiring symbolic film filled with deep purpose, meaning and thought. Absent of all the highly Americanized gloss, including; narration, heavy-drama flashbacks and distracting pop culture references found in Wild, Tracks tells the story of a woman who suffered harsher condition, during a lengthier hike with less help from the outside world. By watching both films, it becomes clear that Wild is a film that reaffirms America’s obsession with keeping stories of Americans more relevant than individuals internationally, sadly.

Witherspoon may have delivered the performance of her life as Strayed, a woman who seems to overly dramatize the tragedies in her life by taking drastic measures. Strayed, whose life could have easily been made into a soap-opera miniseries, had the huge privilege of having her book connect with many housewives and identity-riddled middle aged women who found hope and purpose through the pages of her memoir, giving the film adaptation traction and leverage. Witherspoon, who in addition to starring in the film, acts as the films producer as well, transforms herself to a thin Strayed whose conquests from California to Oregon push the bodily limits of a highly tormented and dumbfounded character whose purpose of the quest is questioned repeatedly and given no due sympathy based on her lack of commitment to really anything at all in her life.

Thankfully, the film isn’t all that bad. One of the many strengths of Wild that isn’t ever understood or put into perspective in other films is its ability to relate to many of the average audience members who would ever think of doing such a journey. Vallée sets-up perfect scenes of hiking preparation that blend perfectly with Witherspoon’s mix of humour and daft seriousness, such as her first encounter with a backpack that is twice her height and triple the size of our protagonist. At some points in the beginning of Strayed’s journey, we can’t help but notice Witherspoon resemble a white-washed, patriotic version of Dora the Explorer with her handy-dandy backpack and all the useful things inside it (condoms included, if you could believe it), making someone who is just undeniable to relate to.