WILD

A chronicle of Cheryl Strayed’s 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent catastrophe. —IMDB

Reese Witherspoon’s branching into new territory results in an average movie. Witherspoon is pretty brave in her role (she did all her own walking and some tough scenes), although the director apparently covered all the mirrors during shooting so she couldn’t see herself. Sort of ironic given that the journey she is acting in is one of self-discovery! The scenery is beautiful but the cinematography, in my opinion, didn’t capture the isolation that Cheryl Strayed must have experienced. The continual flashbacks to the life Strayed left interfere with the mood and prevented the director from sustaining the sense of loneliness and isolation of the walk. The events that occur to Strayed on the journey, as represented in the movie are pretty trivial – avoiding a snake, losing shoes, etc.  She’s constantly running into people who help her. There are some tense moments but the movie, overall, makes the whole thing look just a bit too easy. There is also constant narration of Slayed’s thoughts which becomes irritating after a while. The whole thing feels too contrived and neat. Compared to movies like TRACKS, another true story of a woman who walked 1,700 miles across the deserts of Western Australia, WILD just doesn’t make it. (I recommend TRACKS to anyone who is interested in walking journeys.)