Wildlike (2014)

After conditions in her new home become unbearable, a teenage girl runs away and befriends an older man preparing for a hike through the Alaskan wilderness.

Director:

Frank Hall Green

Writer:

Frank Hall Green

Stars:

Ella Purnell, Brian Geraghty, Diane Farr

47 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ella Purnell	...	Mackenzie
Brian Geraghty	...	Uncle
Diane Farr	...	Mom
Nolan Gerard Funk	...	Tommy
Joshua Leonard	...	Dad
Julia Forster	...	Lizzie
Christopher Constant	...	Office Employee
Paul Wilcox	...	Office Employee
Thomas Daly	...	Office Employee
Teddy Kyle Smith	...	Blain
Ossie Kairaiuak	...	Outdoor Store Employee
Russell Josh Peterson	...	Mendenhall Guy with Dog (as Russell Peterson)
Bruce Greenwood	...	Bartlett
Jamie Nelson	...	Anchorage Kite Person
Rich Capitan	...	Anchorage Kite Person

Storyline

Mackenzie, a troubled but daring teenage girl, is sent by her struggling mother to live with her uncle in Juneau, Alaska. Although Uncle seems like a supportive caretaker and friend, the relationship turns and Mackenzie is forced to run. Trying to make her way back to Seattle alone to find her absent mother, Mackenzie only winds up deeper in the Alaskan interior. Lost and with no one else to turn to, she shadows a loner backpacker, Bartlett, an unlikely father figure with scars of his own. Together, they cross the wilderness and discover sanctuary in the last frontier.

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Plot Keywords:

juneau alaska | denali national park | alaska | one word title | palmer alaska | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dzika

Filming Locations:

Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenmachine Film, Killer Films, Tandem Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The polar bear at the Juneau airport in the beginning of the film used to be in the airport in the city of Spokane, Washington, where Wildlike recently played and won best narrative and an audience award. A Spokane resident pointed this out in the Q&A.

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Quotes

Bartlett: We eat a hundred yards from the tent. We don't make fires, I cook on the stove, and there are no marshmallows. Don't spill food on youself, don't break any branches, don't step on any flowers. Just leave everything the way you found it. This is bear spray. Hold on to it. Never approach and bear, or a moose, or whatever. Don't approach them. If a bear charges you then...
Mackenzie: I know what I'm doing.
Bartlett: You have no idea. But whatever you do, don't run. - Do not run. - Don't run.
Mackenzie: "Don't run." got it.

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Soundtracks

Slings
Written by David Strickland
Performed by The Knotty Pines Band
Courtesy of The Knotty Pines Band
All Rights Reserved

User Reviews

Beautiful in it's poignant quietude and breathtaking journey through Alaska

When I first saw the trailer and guessed what this film might be about, I was very nervous.

I was nervous that such an important story might not be handled well, especially by a male director. The few films that I have seen depict rape/molestation have presented it in a way that didn't feel real to me. Others had been too theatrical, too overdone, and too violent.

After seeing Wildlike, I knew that writer/director Frank Hall Green had done his research on the subject matter. Real life abuse isn't always loud and violent as we often see it portrayed, but it can be quiet and fleeting as it slips into daily routines with terrifyingly familiar people. In real life the darkest moments of our lives often go unspoken, revealed only in glances or implied in what is left unsaid. Wildlike captures this flawlessly.

Wildlike depicts the quietness of pain, but also the placid and beautiful journey to healing that can follow. It is refreshingly optimistic in that it does not linger on the suffering, but instead quickly allows you to escape on an adventure of recovery with the young protagonist. Vast and breathtaking landscapes of Alaska seem to set both the character and the audience free after a meaningfully unsettling first act.

And while the scenes of sweeping landscapes captured effortlessly by Hillary Spera are incredible, it is not the purely the majesty of Alaska which defines this film's success. It is the vulnerable and compelling performances of Ella Purnell and Bruce Greenwood which drive the film, and Green's fluid approach to the human condition. Real life is beautiful in it's quietude and subtleties, and that is what Wildlike evokes so honestly.