There are plenty of travelogue, “into the wild” films out there with a “follow your dream” life-affirming message. But few emphasise their point as much as the overblown Wild.
Starring Reese Witherspoon and based on a memoir by Cheryl
Strayed, this biographical drama opens to the sound of orgasmic relief as
walking shoes are removed. So too is a
toenail. It’s a mere indication of her
pain.
From there we follow Cheryl on her path along the Pacific
Crest Trail: 1,100 miles stretching from the Mexican border to Canada. It’s a film of female empowerment and
motivational poetry as she finds her inner-strength to keep pushing on,
distrustful of every man she meets along the way. “What kind of woman are you?” one male
character asks: the film is her voyage of discovery. To the backdrop of beautifully shot desert
vistas, snowy wilderness and rain-soaked forests, we follow Cheryl on her path
to enlightenment – a path that climaxes, suitably enough, at the Bridge of the
Gods.
Through flashback we discover the reasons behind her journey
– and they’re as stereotypical as they come.
“I’m the girl who says yes instead of no”, she dryly notes, her
lifestyle wilder than her solo adventure.
Divorce? Check. Dying mother?
Check. Abusive father? Check. Heroin and sex addiction? Check.
It’s a catalogue of bad lifestyle choices and unfortunate
circumstances. Her journey through the
wilderness is an extreme method of redemption (full of glaring symbolism and
spirit animals) to become the woman her mother wanted her to be and put her
life on the right track – literally.
If the film’s message wasn’t heavy-handed enough, the
soundtrack heightens the film to hyperbole with some terrible, clichéd
choices. Cheryl’s main earworm is Simon
& Garfunkel’s Homeward Bound;
Portishead’s Glory Box becomes a
feminist anthem with its repeated line “give me a reason to be a woman”; More More More accompanies her heroin
addiction; and First Aid Kit have covered R.E.M’s Walk Unafraid, for obvious reasons.
The lyric “I’d rather be a hammer than a nail” in Simon & Garfunkel’s
El Condor Pasa only serves to hammer
home the film’s sentiment. Cheryl even
stumbles across a group of musicians mourning the death of Jerry Garcia,
guitarist of the Grateful Dead who likewise suffered from heroin addiction.
The film is held together, though, by a gritty and
formidable performance from Witherspoon.
It’s a convincing portrayal that combines humour with genuine emotion,
though watching her hiking under tough conditions makes you wonder how much
she’s really acting. Still, it's an Oscar-worthy performance in a film that, like director Jean-Marc Vallée's previous film Dallas Buyers Club, is likely to scoop plenty of awards.
Wild may have a
strong message at its heart, but this isn’t a cuddly sentimental film. It’s a gripping watch and a great example of
a strong female protagonist – if only it had a little more subtlety.
3/5
Watch: Wild screens at the London Film Festival, with general release in January.
Watch: Wild screens at the London Film Festival, with general release in January.
