Film Review: ‘Wild’
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern
Age Restriction: 16 DLNS
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 116 minutes
Release date: 27 February 2015
Reese Witherspoon stars in this coming-of-age biographical drama based on the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.
The film follows Strayed, played by Witherspoon, who embarks on a 1100-mile hike alone in the wilderness as an attempt to heal herself from her troubled life and to seek self-discovery.
As Strayed embarks on her hike, the film jumps back and forth into flashback mode exploring Strayed’s troubled past which explains why she decided to embark on such a perilous journey in the first place. We also learn of Strayed’s childhood, which is what triggered her reckless behaviour as an adult.
As a whole, Wild is a character study that uses its character development as a means of telling its story. The film is fairly slow-paced, which is a good thing in this case as it explores its characters, thoroughly allowing viewers to see things from their perspectives. Wild’s character development is its major highlight because the characters’ back stories and development are fascinating, and it’s this aspect which allows Wild to succeed as a highly entertaining film.
Viewers will absolutely be engaged into the film as Strayed really has an interesting story to share with the world, one that’s powerful, emotional, captivating and thought-provoking.
And Witherspoon is an absolute joy to behold. Like a pro, Witherspoon delivers her dialogue articulately and provides a raw, emotional and powerful performance worthy of the Oscar nomination she received. You can see the passion and dedication Witherspoon brought to the role, and the film would be nothing without her brilliant performance.
Another worthy performance comes from Laura Dern, who lights up the film despite her minimal screen time. Dern delivers a fun, sweet and quirky performance as Strayed’s mom Bobbi and adds a lot of energy into the film.
Wild is also wonderfully shot with amazing landscapes and locations, and brilliant cinematography.
All in all, Wild is a highly entertaining piece of cinema with wonderfully developed characters which allows the film to flourish as it uses this aspect to tell its story. Witherspoon and Dern give brilliant performances with Witherspoon in particular deserving of her Best Actress nomination.
