'Wild' - 2014 film review

Wild Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Reese Witherspoon Movie HD

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'Wild' (2014 film)

Wild is a 2014 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The screenplay by Nick Hornby is based on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. The film stars Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, alongside Laura Dern (as Strayed's mother), with Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman and Gaby Hoffmann among several others in supporting roles. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 2014, and was released theatrically on December 3, 2014, in North America.

Wild opened to positive critical reviews, with much praise going toward the performances of Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. Both actresses received Academy Award nominations for their performances, in the categories of Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.


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First off, I wanted to add a couple of postings by YouTube users regarding some people comparing 'Wild' with the 2007 film 'Into the Wild'.'Wild' made it crystal clear as to what what Cheryl Strayed's motivations were, while I didn't think that 'Into the Wild' ever really made it clear what Chris McCandless's motivation and reasoning was. It was more like an obsession at some point. Did he really believe that he was going to survive an Alaskan winter outside? Cheryl Strayed stayed within her limits, and stayed focused on conquering her demons. I just thought that the two films were sort've like apples and oranges.

Wow, I'm very disappointed in some of these comments reflecting people's belief that this movie is just a rip-off of Into the Wild. They are completely different movies, and each is excellent in its own way. Into the Wild is a movie about a kid who graduated from Emory University as a successful student and athlete, but decided to donate all of his material possessions to charity and live in the wild to find spiritual awakening. The entire premise of the movie, however, is that despite the spiritual awareness he finds in the wilderness, he identifies that happiness can best be cultivated with others, not alone. Wild is the story of Cheryl Strayed, who after the death of her mother and spending years of risky behavior, decides to make the bold decision of walking the PCT trail on the west coast. She does this for a number of reasons––to heal, to find herself again, to reflect, to live. Flashbacks permeate the film, telling the story of the relationship between Sheryl and the people who have populated her life. It is a movie about redemption, reflection, and adversity. While I understand the outward appearance of significant similarities between the movies, the thematic elements of both are quite different. -- Matt Clark

Jesus...A lot of douchebag guys trash talking this movie saying this is a feminist look of 2007 "Into the Wild."  I never watched "Into the Wild" to begin with.  But I just recently watched this movie, and I gotta say it has a lot of depth to it.  I never witnessed anything like this story.  It was gritty, heart wrenching, a real tearjerker.  But there were moments sentimentality and intimacy that warmed my heart.  This movie is a masterpiece beyond belief.  I watched it solely on the reviews it has been getting as of recent.  I knew it was going to be good, but I never knew it was going to be great.  I recommend everyone to really watch it.  Everyone can learn from it, young and old.  That's why I truly rank it high in my list of my favorite movies. -- Life According to Cerizo


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I hate to be knit-picky, but I didn't really like the opening scene, which only seemed to confuse the viewer a bit as it jumped ahead to a later point of the story. It didn't seem to have any point, except maybe to make clear that this wasn't just be a serene walk through the woods amid the bees and the trees. The Pacific Crest Trail is a long distance hiking trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border through the three western states; 2,659 miles. The films' starting point was at the beginning of the trail in the Mohave Desert. It's a harsh way to start off. There were many small struggles all throughout. For example, her backpack initially seemed nearly as big and heavy as she was.

Throughout the film, she has flashbacks about her recently deceased mother and about her past mistakes; an apparent attempt to conquer her demons. The films' soundtrack was memorable and applicable to the story. A prominent song featured throughout the film is the Simon & Garfunkel cover "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)", which was used primarily to evoke Cheryl's memory of her mother. Jacobs explained, "This isn't about reality. This is about keeping the essence of the mother there."

Like any great endeavor, there are some early rough times; marked by "Day 1".... "Day 2".... She was very alone, which was probably necessary for the spiritual part of it at least. There was a concept of "becoming humble" about ones life and experiences; almost like becoming child like and taking baby steps. Learning to appreciate the small things again. However, not humble as in pious or unempowered. It is indeed very humbling for a person to acknowledge past mistakes and negative patterns of behavior. I thought Reese Witherspoon did a good job without being like too cutsy.

While still in the desert, at twilight one evening, she heard coyotes howling. She listened for a minute and howled along with them a couple of times. It seemed like an early spiritual and psychological acclimating to the harsh environment. Then she finally got out of the desert... now there's some symbolism. She entered a forested region and finally made it to the first stopover camp! 'The Air That I Breathe' by The Hollies was perfect! Just making it to the first stopover was very important. There was a small celebration as the more experienced hikers cheered the arrival of the clearly green hiker. This may have been a small thing, but it was important as an affirming moment. This was a person with some bad life patterns, so this was a real first step in a metaphysical and neurological transformation. A small victory.

Most of the flashbacks were about her relationship with her mother, and eventually her heath struggles with cancer. Ultimately she had to deal with her mother's death within those flashbacks and at the present. There was one extremely harsh scene where she came to visit her mother in the hospital, and found out that her mother had donated her eyes so someone else could see. Despite the incredible generosity of that act; it was still easy to see why Cheryl Strayed was upset. It made you feel closer to the character/real person. Of course, her mother knew that she wasn't going to survive. An amazing act of selflessness and sacrifice.

At one point was the hobo scene. It must have really happened, but it was presented as silly and I guess it allowed for some comic relief. A traveling journalist took her photograph as he was entirely convinced that she was a traveling hobo, and left her with a hobo kit... a bag with a few supplies. The soundtrack generated hope amid her struggle, at least as far as the film was concerned. This is a difficult film to review because it's a sum of all of it's small parts.

At one point along the trail, she met a woman whom she visited with, and said the following:

There's a sunrise and a sunset every day, and you can choose to be there for it. You can put yourself in the way of beauty."

Despite that there were some positive male characters, including her ex-husband whom she had failed, there were consistent issues dealing with misogyny throughout the film. The long hike itself, served as a practical, spiritual, and physical ritual... dealing with troubling past issues, present transformation, and working towards a greater destiny. It was about conquering her fears. One bad memory was her regressing when her horse had to be put down. She said at one point that if and when she completes the hike, she will still be left homeless with no resources. As she closed in towards the last stretch of the trail, she met a woman and her young son. The boy sung a song for her, which made her cry. Maybe the earlier predatory males represented the struggle... and the boy represented the childlike hope for redemption.

The film ended with her finally making it to a point called the Bridge of the Gods, which separates Oregon and Washington. I don't think this was the ending point, but I believe that it was just assumed that there wasn't anything that was going to stop her now. There were some final words and a final song. I think that this excellent film was more of a sum of it's small parts, rather than a dramatic ending. She was redeemed. Just like another film about redemption called 'South Central', the change must come from within. If a person is still the same, even money and resources probably won't help them.


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Hikers and surfers

When I have been in places like South Lake Tahoe, I've observed that many of the hikers seem almost like surfers, or even snowboarders, in terms of personality and outlook. If snowboarders are surfers of the snow, then maybe hikers are surfers of the land, forests, or mountains. The 1991 film 'Point Break' really touches upon the mindset and spirituality of surfers. While a surfer is chasing the rush of the ultimate wave, a hiker probably has more small rushes; such as, having to deal with a nearby bear for awhile, or making it to a high point on a mountain.


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Interstellar

I've watch numerous films over the last few months, but I can't review them all. Even if I wanted to make mention of some of them with the related subjects, it's too easy to forget the more finite points. I've watched 'Prometheus' (2012), 'Interstellar' (2014), 'The Martian' (2015), 'Oblivion' (2013), and others. 'Interstellar' really stands out. I suspect that it touches upon the manner in which the metaphysical world--in how it relates to us--really works. It's considered on of the top 100 all-time best movies.


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Watch 'Wild' for free

The full movie is available for free at the following link:
Wild (2014) Movie - Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern
Surprisingly, this has been available since January 2017. Many forgotten films from the 70s, for example, are closely guarded by copyrights on YouTube



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