Review: Wild

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★★

If you can’t handle powerful human dramas with strong performances designed to make you feel, then “Wild” won’t be for you. “Wild” is one of the most emotionally charged and powerful films I’ve seen in 2014, and certainly one of the best.

“Wild” starts Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed, a young woman setting out to hike almost every single mile of the Pacific Crest Trail despite have no prior backpacking experience. Why would she subject herself to such torture? Well, Strayed has fallen on really tough times in her life lately. Through flashbacks told along her journey, we see fragments of the events that lead her to making this decision.

We see the turbulent relationship with her ex-husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski), and the events that lead to their divorce. Her life was already in a downward spiral at that point, but the divorce sends her further into the ground. But every negative episode of Cheryl’s life is juxtaposed against happier memories, most of which include her loving mother Bobbi (Laura Dern). Outside of flashbacks, we see Cheryl struggle to complete her journey while questioning her sanity and her ability to finish.

“Wild” is a harrowing and powerful film. It’s a film that pulls a vast range of emotions from you, and it does so very fluidly. The movie goes through highs and lows, like the peaks and valleys of a wave. Cheryl’s backstory is provided entirely through flashbacks, and the events are recalled out of chronological order. Some things trigger happy memories while others recall more depressing episodes. Some of these sequences leave you laughing while others with move you in a much deeper way.

This is made possible thanks to another brilliant direction outing by Jean-Marc Vallée. Vallée directed last year’s sensational “Dallas Buyers Club” and he returns this year with another great story worthy of being told. With “Wild,” Vallée shows that he is truly a gifted filmmaker who knows how to draw just the right emotion out of his actors. When his actors are able to show those emotions so vividly, then you’ll be able to feel it in the exact same way. If they can’t showcase emotions perfectly, then how can we – the audience – be expected to believe it too.

Of course Vallée’s job is made that much easier thanks to yet another fantastic screenplay from the great Nick Hornby. The backstory is told in fragments so you never do have all the pieces of Strayed’s life at any given time. Some of the dialogue is delivered through voiceover, which I normally despise since it just comes across as lazy screenwriting. But here, Hornby has written it in such a way that it never feels like Strayed is narrating to you. And Vallée even presents the voiceover in a unique manner, so it never feels tried and overused. Hornby’s scenes and sequences are orchestrated with such care that it flows more like a good symphony than it does a typical three-act film. Every high moment is followed by a dark and low episode before swinging back up to happier scenes. This is an example of screenwriting at it’s finest. How is Hornby not being offered studio jobs?

Witherspoon is the anchor of this film. She delivers a triumphant performance that’s unlike anything she’s ever done in her career. She’s in every single scene of the film, which is no easy task for any actor to undertake. She received many accolades for her role as June Carter in “Walk the Line,” but her showing in “Wild” surpasses that miles and miles. Her performance is equal parts uplifting and devastatingly painful. Next to Witherspoon, Dern also delivers a career best performance worthy of recognition as Witherspoon’s adorable and loving mother. Their on-screen chemistry together is absolute perfection.

“Wild” is true story that’s too good not to tell. Director Vallée proves he’s a filmmaker who understands emotions, and he’s able to get the best performances from his acting ensemble each and every time. Witherspoon is also out to demonstrate that she’s not just an enormously talented actress, but also has a great eye for stories. This is the second film she’s produced this year – after “Gone Girl” – both of which feature strong female characters, something that is greatly lacking in films today. “Wild” is a profound tale of the human spirit, one filled with so many differing emotions that you’ll feel as though you walked alongside Strayed for each mile.