Wild

20 July 2015

Wild 2014

• Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
• Based on Book by Cheryl Strayed
• Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line, Legally Blonde, Pleasantville
• Laura Dern: I Am Sam, Citizen Ruth, A Perfect World, Jurassic Park, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet
• Tom Hiddleston – Thor
• Gaby Hoffman – Veronica Mars, You Can Count on Me, Black and White, Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle, Field of Dreams
•  Why: recommended by YW
• Seen: 12 July 2015 with Hal and YW in our read-book-watch-film circle 

Oh, my aching feet! I hope they don’t show the rotten toenails.

Oh no, they just showed the rotten toenails! And she’s right at the edge of a cliff. I hate that! Am I going to have to watch this whole film with my eyes closed?

Fortunately not. I watch all of it.

Cheryl Strayed walks for ninety days on the Pacific Crest Trail to fight her demons – the death of her mother, stricken by cancer at the age of 45 which leads to Cheryl’s downward spiral of heroin and sex abuse and the divorce from the husband she never stopped loving.

The film is true to the book, the screenwriter is a pro – Nick Hornby. Still it doesn’t have the strength of the book. It’s a bit slow at times and I expected and wanted more of the spectacular nature.  Most of the cast is fine but Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon are better than that. They’re perfect for their parts.

Criticism aside, it’s a very strong film.

4* of 5