Screening report on "Wild"

Wild is an American biographical drama based on Cheryl Strayed adventurous life and her 2012 memoir, called Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was released in December 2014. As we could figure out from the title, the movie depicts her 1,100 mile long solo journey on the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Oregon,during which she got a chance to rediscover herself.

First of all, the film was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, the famous Canadian film director, and written by Nick Hornby. Its runtime is 115 minutes, and the main characters are played by Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Keene McRae, and Michiel Huisman but it was definitely Witherspoon, who made this movie so memorable as she played against her cheerful character that we got used to in movies like Legally Blond or Sweet Home Alabama. Furthermore, critics said that in this challenging role depicting drug use and casual, she managed to deliver her finest performance in years. It is told mostly from her point of view so what the protagonist saw and heard was exactly what we got, as well.

I would like to elaborate on one of the movie’s most powerful scenes portraying a beginner hiker at presumably her lowest point during her three-month long unbelievable travelling. The death of her mother, Bobbi, played by Laura Dern, prompted Strayed’s personal crisis. Overwhelmed by grief, this lead her way into heroin addiction and court sex with strangers and it eventually destroyed her marriage with a loving and caring husband. Then, she started her heart-rending hike, dedicated to her loving mother, with an unwieldy backpack, which symbolized her heavy heart and sufferings. We could see that she carefully examined her injured feet and tried to remove her battered nail from her big toe. She screamed really loudly in frustration and because of the unbearable pain and then, she tossed her boots down the steep cliff. As a result of this scene, the viewers could already be filled with concerns for Strayed because she is all alone in the wilderness without a proper footwear. During the movie, we could see plenty of flashbacks to happier times, showcasing Bobbi as a survivor, as well.

To sum up, in my opinion what made this movie great is the brutal honesty with which the story was told mixed with a kind of hard-bitten sarcastic humor. It showed us the whole journey in a way that it also suggested that we are also a part of it.