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Wild (2014)
A film about self-reflection, dealing with grief, and redemption
Wild is a film about Cheryl Strayed, a woman who is hiking 1000 miles to heal her recent wounds and to find her best self.
The good:
The film is absolutely beautiful. Whether it's a sunny day in the mountains or a rainy day in a forest, or a flashback to some time in Cheryl's life, the film looks fantastic.
Reese Witherspoon gives a wonderful and unglamorous performance. She is subtle and believable without any hint of trying to say "hey look at me, I'm acting." She comes off as authentic and passionate about this role.
The structure of the film is that as Cheryl is hiking the PCT, she comes across obstacles or scenery that reminds her of certain times in her life. These moments are presented as flashbacks to fill the audience in on Cheryl's motivations and why she is who she is. These flashbacks never feel shoehorned in, rather that they are presented exactly how and when they should be. The film feels long, in the sense that you are really experiencing a lot of Cheryl's life across a grand personal journey. The feeling of length allows for the audience to connect with Cheryl and root for her.
The films does a good job of presenting the really emotional moments in a way that allows the audience to feel Cheryl's struggles and relate to her. The film presents these moments without beating the audience over their heads or coming off as hammy.
The film presents a rare character- a strong, flawed, female lead. Cheryl Strayed is a flawed character. However, she is presented as a strong woman who is facing up to the way she dealt with her grief and is trying become who she always wanted to be. It was refreshing seeing a strong female that wasn't either the perfect girlfriend or the evil villain. Witherspoon really delivered this character well.
The bad:
There were a few scenes that feel like they have no real purpose other than to add tension to the fact that a woman is hiking 1000 miles alone.
Walking 1000 miles presents many dangers. There was a big snow the year Cheryl actually made the hike. There's a constant danger of dehydration, infection, injury, and so on. The film missed a chance to show how strong Cheryl must have been to overcome such obstacles and instead just puts shady men in her way quite a few times.