Wild
WILD (15)
D: Jean-Marc Vallée
Fox Searchlight/River Road/Pacific Standard (Reese
Witherspoon, Bruno Papandrea & Bill Pohlad)
US 2014
115 mins
Biopic/Drama/Adventure
W: Nick Hornby [based on the autobiographical book "Wild:
From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed]
DP: Yves Belanger
Ed: John Mac McMurphy & Martin Pensa
Reese Witherspoon (Cheryl Strayed), Laura Dern
(Bobbi Grey), Thomas Sadoski (Paul), Michiel Huisman (Jonathan), Gaby Hoffman (Aimee)
Wild is the autobiographical story of Cheryl Strayed, a
woman from Minnesota who spent 94 days hiking a 1,100 mile journey along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to Canada. Along the journey, she reminisces on the events which led
her to the challenge, the key factors being her mother's terminal illness and subsequent death, which led to Cheryl's descent into heroin addiction, promiscuous sex with strangers and the
breakdown of her marriage.
Reese Witherspoon delivers an excellent performance as the
woman on a journey of self-discovery, with Laura Dern also providing a strong supporting role in moments of flashback. The non-linear narrative style needs to paid attention to, as this is
far from a standard Hollywood adventure film.
7/10
