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I bought Wild on a freezing cold Wednesday night in early January. I settled down with the last of my Christmas chocolate to enjoy one of the few hiking related films that had slipped under my radar.
A few friends had given it glowing reviews and a cursory glance at google suggested I’d get my money’s worth.
The film stars Reece Witherspoon as the troubled Cheryl Strayed upon whose book the film is based. Up until her academy award winning turn as June Carter, in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, I’d only seen her in a few lightweight roles, mostly rom coms, and whilst she was brilliant in the WTL role, I wondered how she’d fare in Wild.
Ten minutes into the film and I realised she was perfectly cast as Strayed.
Strayed, an apt name for a character whose life had descended into a downward spiral following the death of her mother and the breakdown of her marriage, decides to halt the self destructive behaviour that has driven her to the edge by hiking 1100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Her desperation is reflected in her naivety surrounding the trip. A naivety coupled with a determination that immediately has you warming to her. Early on in her adventure she struggles to put up her tent, her pack is way too large and too heavy, as she makes comedic efforts to hoist it onto her back. She discovers that many ‘essential’ items are, in fact, useless to her as she ploughs on through the wilderness.
Her feet blister as she breaks in hiking boots that don’t fit properly and her improvisation (tying bandages round her feet) highlights her desperation to succeed and her desire to continue. Witherspoon is entirely convincing as this fish out of water, exhausted, frustrated but perseverant knowing that the worst things that could happen to her have happened already.
Her need to heal and shed unwanted baggage are evident as her story is told in flashbacks. Her ever positive mother, (played by Laura Dern) tries to rebuild her own life after escaping her abusive husband by returning to the same college as her daughter. They spar over literature and Cheryl struggles to comprehend her mother’s optimism, bluntly outlining their limited financial circumstances and career opportunities.
These arguments saddle her with guilt and fear when they learn of her mother’s aggressive terminal cancer.
Disturbingly for Cheryl, neither she or her brother are there when her mother passes away. This triggers a descent into a drug fuelled world of sexual encounters and addiction. She pushes away a loving husband and best friend whose love for her endures even after their divorce.
Eventually the decision is made to walk the trail in an attempt to find herself again. Ultimately it is her resilience that attracts you to her. She is as unprepared for the challenges of the trail as she is to handle the challenges in her personal life.
But she is a survivor. Her persistence impresses her fellow hikers who offer support and advice she is able to use and accept. All the while she passes through spectacular, challenging terrain from desert to forest to mountains to meadows. The space allows her to breath and the solitude time to think. She leaves quotes from her favourite authors at trail markers and embraces humanity on the track wherever she finds it, learning to trust people and finally, herself.
The ending of the film feels real to any hiker. There is no jumping around in ecstasy but an internal sense of achievement and a recognition of the value of the undertaking.
Wild is a fantastic film, superbly acted and a great advert for the Pacific Crest Trail.
Steel Town Rambler Rating 9/10
Follow the affiliate link to buy Wild on Amazon on DVD or Blue Ray
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