Wild

Take a hike.

As a fan of Cheryl Strayed’s novel Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which captures one woman’s thousand-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, I’ve been looking forward to seeing this story told on a big, beautiful screen.

Today I have good news and bad news. Wild, the movie, does not showcase the great outdoors’ beauty in the way that I hoped. The director, Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), doesn’t give us those big, inspirational views. However, he doesn’t give us big speeches and big scenes either. It’s simply more authentic than poetic.

Given that I’ll likely never take a journey like that, I appreciate that approach. I now have a visual and an idea of exactly what that experience feels and looks like. That’s more powerful than the postcard-picture movie I expected to see.

Simply put:  A journey that’s worth your time.

Award potential: In the world of the Oscars, this is just a performance film, not a Best Picture. Reese Witherspoon is a lock for a nomination for her gritty performance as Strayed. Laura Dern (an excellent mother figure in both this film and also The Fault In Our Stars) could spoil and score a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.