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Wild (2014)

Director:
Jean-Marc Vallée
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Drama
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Wild
RUNNING TIME
115 minutes
Producers:
Bruna Papandrea
Bill Pohlad
Reese Witherspoon
Screenwriters (based on the novel by Cheryl Strayed):
Nick Hornby


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Cheryl Strayed Reese Witherspoon
Barbara "Bobbi" Grey Laura Dern ½
Paul Thomas Sadoski
Jonathan Michiel Huisman
Frank W. Earl Brown
Aimee Gaby Hoffmann
Greg Kevin Rankin

 

Review

Well-meaning and introspective by nature, this story about a young woman trying to get her volatile life back on track by walking the Pacific Crest Trail is adapted by Nick Hornby and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (of last year's Dallas Buyers Club) with some of the same compassion and performance-driven drive which marked that film. Wild conveys well how physical endeavours and solace can get you back in touch with reality and yourself, but its anecdotal narrative style and numerous repeated flashbacks ultimately do not carry enough weight to make the story as profound and significant as the film trumpets. The talented Reese Witherspoon carries the weight as well as she can, but the film is as overloaded with suggested sentiment as her backpack is with stuff, and Vallée isn't equally willing to shed or repack as his protagonist is. The film lacks a climax, and the payoff is slight – unless you count when El Condor Pasa finally gets past its intro during the end credits.

Copyright © 16.3.2015 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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