'A woman hikes alone for over 1000 miles to get over her mother's death, her divorce and her self destructive behaviour'
This does not exactly sound like a story that would make a brilliant film. It sounds simple, slow, and you would be spending virtually all of the film with only one cast member… all of these elements are actually what make Jean-Marc Vallée's Wild so damn good!
The film follows 26-year-old Cheryl (played by Reese Witherspoon)in her hike across the Pacific Crest Trail (or PCT as she refers to it) in a bid to heal her mind of all the past damage she has afflicted upon herself over the previous 4 years since her mother's passing; from excessive sex and heavy drug abuse, Cheryl has some serious ground to cover, both physically and emotionally. She meets many challenges including water running low and bad foot injuries (the opening scene involving a toenail will make you wince, just warning you) and characters that help her find her centre throughout this perilous trek.
First off, Reese Witherspoon has a seriously intimidating mouton to climb, and not just throughout the film. With nearly every single camera shot in the movie featuring her, Witherspoon is required to push well beyond what most actors would consider a tough gig. However she is absolutely fantastic in this film and does everything required and more. With blistering feet and a blistering performance, she commands the screen with an incredible strength, combined with a vulnerability to her troubled character. Cheryl was completely out of her element on the hike but adapted to her situations and Witherspoon has done the same with a fervour and passion for the story that seeps through the screen and pulls you in. Not bad for someone who is also one of the film's producers.
The supporting cast are really well chosen as well, in spite of very limited screen time. Laura Dern is awesome as Cheryl's mother Bobbi. She has the task of getting you not only enough of the exposition you need, but also to emotionally invest you in Cheryl's journey and the reasoning behind it. She is excellent in every scene she is in and really gets you behind Cheryl's recovery. Keene McRae, while very limited in screen time, is excellent as Cheryl's brother Leif. Some of the cast are surprise entries, a couple are of Breaking Bad and Deadwood fame. The only performance that I thought was weaker was that of Thomas Sadoski as Cheryl's ex-husband. While he played the part well, there was a little bit of uncertainty in his emotional angles. I can visualise him asking Vallée repeated question like 'How angry should I be?' 'How sad should I be?' 'How serious should I be?' without ever quite hitting the intended mark. In all fairness to him his performance really is fine overall, it just sticks out for miles when compared alongside Witherspoon's tour de force. Obviously the limited screen time doesn't help his character either.
Jean-Marc Vallée's direction is awesome throughout the entire film. Both visually and creatively, he clearly has the right eye for every scene. He captures the Pacific Crest Trail beautifully, giving us the unforgiving yet stunning scenery without ever directing the focus away from Witherspoon. The true beauty of his direction is that the eye-candy shots are kept to a minimum and they are almost entirely just background shots to the actors. This really grounds the scenery and helps the viewer to visualise themselves in Strayed's shoes, instead of simply admiring landscape shots and thinking 'wow that's pretty'. The use of flashback is awesome as well, with a particular focus on quick, silent glimpses into the past that are later addressed at length. This is a masterstroke of baiting the audience's curiosity further in. Every flashback is also seamlessly connected to an action in Cheryl's journey; it may come from a line of dialogue or a movement of a shoe, but no changes in time or place are made without there being a specific and logical reason behind it. It is beautifully directed and flows phenomenally.
The soundtrack is pretty forgettable as it is virtually all simply well known songs and they are mostly diagetic within the film. There isn't much else to say on it, other than the songs are well chosen and brilliantly subtle. A lot of the songs are so well timed in the story that you'll likely look back afterwards and realise how stupidly convenient they were for that point in Cheryl's journey It's a simple filmmaking method but it works over the subconscious to great effect.
With a premise as simple as this one, it won't come as a surprise to anyone that the subtext is clearly of greater importance than the text. Wild is a great message for not allowing grief to overcome you, not letting poor past decisions overshadow a greater future, taking life by the reigns and rolling with it and using immediate problems to create long term solutions. It also promotes detaching yourself from everything that holds you down and the under-appreciated benefits of alone time. On another note, it also sure as hell got me in the mood for hiking. The only issue this film sometimes has is its desire to hint at potential avenues and then avoid them completely. Where one scene gives the feeling that this film will be a lot lighter, another gives the hint that we're veering towards a creepy thriller, without either one being the case. These scenes are still great scenes and add as much flavour to the film as any other, but they could perhaps have been handled a little better.
The script is outstanding and one of the absolute high points of the film. Nick Hornby has given one of my favourite scripts of the past year. It's witty and very funny at points, but most of all it is an exceptional examination of Cheryl's character and a truly relatable, moving work. The dialogue flows naturally with a very human heart to it and it's never less than awesome.
Overall this is a sensational film with a simple but intensely deep story addressing the human condition; while a couple of slips and slides do occur, a stunning career-high performance from Reese Witherspoon, an excellent supporting cast, awesome visuals, killer direction and a haunting message make this a treat for film lovers. Those who go to see films for action and intensity will probably not find much here, but as an emotional experience that will bring about much thought and discussion post-viewing, Jean-Marc Vallée's Wild is well worth the trek.
This does not exactly sound like a story that would make a brilliant film. It sounds simple, slow, and you would be spending virtually all of the film with only one cast member… all of these elements are actually what make Jean-Marc Vallée's Wild so damn good!
The film follows 26-year-old Cheryl (played by Reese Witherspoon)in her hike across the Pacific Crest Trail (or PCT as she refers to it) in a bid to heal her mind of all the past damage she has afflicted upon herself over the previous 4 years since her mother's passing; from excessive sex and heavy drug abuse, Cheryl has some serious ground to cover, both physically and emotionally. She meets many challenges including water running low and bad foot injuries (the opening scene involving a toenail will make you wince, just warning you) and characters that help her find her centre throughout this perilous trek.
First off, Reese Witherspoon has a seriously intimidating mouton to climb, and not just throughout the film. With nearly every single camera shot in the movie featuring her, Witherspoon is required to push well beyond what most actors would consider a tough gig. However she is absolutely fantastic in this film and does everything required and more. With blistering feet and a blistering performance, she commands the screen with an incredible strength, combined with a vulnerability to her troubled character. Cheryl was completely out of her element on the hike but adapted to her situations and Witherspoon has done the same with a fervour and passion for the story that seeps through the screen and pulls you in. Not bad for someone who is also one of the film's producers.
The supporting cast are really well chosen as well, in spite of very limited screen time. Laura Dern is awesome as Cheryl's mother Bobbi. She has the task of getting you not only enough of the exposition you need, but also to emotionally invest you in Cheryl's journey and the reasoning behind it. She is excellent in every scene she is in and really gets you behind Cheryl's recovery. Keene McRae, while very limited in screen time, is excellent as Cheryl's brother Leif. Some of the cast are surprise entries, a couple are of Breaking Bad and Deadwood fame. The only performance that I thought was weaker was that of Thomas Sadoski as Cheryl's ex-husband. While he played the part well, there was a little bit of uncertainty in his emotional angles. I can visualise him asking Vallée repeated question like 'How angry should I be?' 'How sad should I be?' 'How serious should I be?' without ever quite hitting the intended mark. In all fairness to him his performance really is fine overall, it just sticks out for miles when compared alongside Witherspoon's tour de force. Obviously the limited screen time doesn't help his character either.
Jean-Marc Vallée's direction is awesome throughout the entire film. Both visually and creatively, he clearly has the right eye for every scene. He captures the Pacific Crest Trail beautifully, giving us the unforgiving yet stunning scenery without ever directing the focus away from Witherspoon. The true beauty of his direction is that the eye-candy shots are kept to a minimum and they are almost entirely just background shots to the actors. This really grounds the scenery and helps the viewer to visualise themselves in Strayed's shoes, instead of simply admiring landscape shots and thinking 'wow that's pretty'. The use of flashback is awesome as well, with a particular focus on quick, silent glimpses into the past that are later addressed at length. This is a masterstroke of baiting the audience's curiosity further in. Every flashback is also seamlessly connected to an action in Cheryl's journey; it may come from a line of dialogue or a movement of a shoe, but no changes in time or place are made without there being a specific and logical reason behind it. It is beautifully directed and flows phenomenally.
The soundtrack is pretty forgettable as it is virtually all simply well known songs and they are mostly diagetic within the film. There isn't much else to say on it, other than the songs are well chosen and brilliantly subtle. A lot of the songs are so well timed in the story that you'll likely look back afterwards and realise how stupidly convenient they were for that point in Cheryl's journey It's a simple filmmaking method but it works over the subconscious to great effect.
With a premise as simple as this one, it won't come as a surprise to anyone that the subtext is clearly of greater importance than the text. Wild is a great message for not allowing grief to overcome you, not letting poor past decisions overshadow a greater future, taking life by the reigns and rolling with it and using immediate problems to create long term solutions. It also promotes detaching yourself from everything that holds you down and the under-appreciated benefits of alone time. On another note, it also sure as hell got me in the mood for hiking. The only issue this film sometimes has is its desire to hint at potential avenues and then avoid them completely. Where one scene gives the feeling that this film will be a lot lighter, another gives the hint that we're veering towards a creepy thriller, without either one being the case. These scenes are still great scenes and add as much flavour to the film as any other, but they could perhaps have been handled a little better.
The script is outstanding and one of the absolute high points of the film. Nick Hornby has given one of my favourite scripts of the past year. It's witty and very funny at points, but most of all it is an exceptional examination of Cheryl's character and a truly relatable, moving work. The dialogue flows naturally with a very human heart to it and it's never less than awesome.
Overall this is a sensational film with a simple but intensely deep story addressing the human condition; while a couple of slips and slides do occur, a stunning career-high performance from Reese Witherspoon, an excellent supporting cast, awesome visuals, killer direction and a haunting message make this a treat for film lovers. Those who go to see films for action and intensity will probably not find much here, but as an emotional experience that will bring about much thought and discussion post-viewing, Jean-Marc Vallée's Wild is well worth the trek.