Wild
Reese Witherspoon plays a bad girl looking to find salvation on a long hike up the Pacific Crest Trail in the autobiographical film, Wild. Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, the author of the book from which the film was adapted. Cheryl was dealing with a lot of stuff: the death of her mother, the crumbling of her marriage because of her infidelity and sex addiction, a heroin habit. Cheryl just lived too much of a life for herself. She set about being selfish and it destroyed her. She hoped a long hike alone would enable her to find her way once more.
The film is an interesting one as it unfolds unconventionally. There were lots of intercutting of her on the hike with her life as it crumbled. There was voice over work that hinted at the Cheryl’s mindset on the tramp through the trail. There was jumps back in time to her childhood with her mom. This whole lot showed more and left the viewer to infer what her motivation was for any of her mischief.
We could know what she did: the sex, the drugs. We could know what was the most psychologically damaging: the loss of her mother. We knew she took it out on her husband. We knew she was disconnecting with the world. The movie shows what, but can’t explain the why. For that we have to look forward to Cheryl’s explanation.
I’m not sure we got it. She was trying to live up to her mom’s idea, but could not. Why did she have to? Why can’t she be a woman all her own? Why would it take a solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to resolve that?
Perhaps, two or three viewings of this movie will resolve these questions. Maybe reading the book as well. But for all that, this film does a fine job in showing the trials and tribulations of a woman at the crossroads in her life.
3 of 5 stars.
