FILM REVIEW: WILD

Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) in Wild.

Strayed on the path

By John Esther

Things are tough for Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon).  A smart, well-read and married person, Strayed falls into a spiral of heroin use and random sexual encounters after her mother, Bobbi (Laura Dern), dies of cancer at the age of 45.

Knowing, accepting somewhere in the back of her mind and the front of books that this behavior is no good, Strayed decides to clean up her act, find herself, challenger her being, etc., by walking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Stretching over 1,100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border to British Columbia, Canada, making the journey is no small feat. But Strayed decided to do it solo. While she did not exactly walk the entire distance, Strayed made it from one end to the other, on her own without a man to guide her -- although Strayed does meet a few nice men (as well as a few menacing ones) along the way.

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) and written by Nick Hornsby (About a Boy), Wild is surprisingly a very entertaining film. Filled with drama, some good jokes -- including a very funny conversation about hobos -- and strong performances by Witherspoon (who seems to be on a small role this year) and Dern, Wild is an unabashedly feminist film. Some people say Strayed was crazy walking in the woods alone as a woman, suggesting she belonged at home in the city. As if home and the city are necessarily safe havens for women.

The film does have have two noticeable flaws.  One is the CGI Fox who seems to meet up with Strayed at certain points. It looks very fake (and we already have one fake Fox in America -- Bu dump chhh). The other shortcoming, though maybe less apparent, is the casting insofar as the genetic makeup of the actor playing Strayed (Witherspoon) could hardly come from the actors playing her mother (Dern) and father (Jason Newell). In other words, if this mother and father had a girl it would not resemble this daughter.

Oh, the film does have its share of blatantly obvious product placements, too. But I guess you have to raise the money for a film about an independent woman somewhere.

Also worth mentioning is the varied soundtrack. Clearly the highlight -- at least in terms of smarts -- is First Aid Kit's cover of R.E.M.'s "Walk Unafraid." Somebody did his or her research. The soundtrack also includes Portishead, and select, albeit unoriginal, Leonard Cohen songs. The rest of the soundtrack is pretty, softcore aural junk.

But those are minor quibbles. Wild runs a little under a brisk two hours, offering some beautiful elements of the California trail along with one woman's inspiring DIY courage, redemption and salvation.

You may want to go hiking afterward.