“I’ve mentioned how I love the sorta “”one man show”” gimmick, where you basically have a single actor on screen for the majority of the film. Those seem to have gained some traction in the past year, but this time we have a “”one woman show””. Although, there are a lot of interstitial scenes, so it’s not as solitary as Locke or Buried or All is Lost, but it’s still a whole lot of one fantastic actress commanding the screen all by herself.
In this real life story, Reese Witherspoon (in one of her finest roles in years) plays Cheryl Strayed, a woman who lost her path in life, and set out to find her way by solo hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. A thousand mile journey thru the American wild and wilderness, giving her time for escape, reflection, and rejuvenation. It sounds a little light on paper, but the film was incredibly rich and moving.
It was certainly one of those that made me think. I watched her struggle thru her first couple days, and I didn’t know if I could even have made it that far. The heat, the weight of her pack, the outdoors savvy, the limited supplies, the sheer size of the dauntingly massive task ahead of her. I would have no problem with being alone mentally, but I’d be worried about being alone in the middle of nowhere. No one to call on for help, unknown creatures lurking, questionable strangers. I’m more the “”alone in a crowd”” type.
But the transformation she goes thru is phenomenal. You see where her life was, and what she’s striving towards. You see her grow and become stronger both mentally and physically. It’s an absolutely beautiful film, and not just for the background scenery. Equal parts inspiring and intimidating, and an incredible journey, even from within the movie theater
Wild – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”