Wild (2014)

Wild tells the story of Cheryl, a drug fueled binge drinker who lost her mother and feels lost on the path to life so she decides to pick up and walk the Pacific coast trail. Directed by Jean Marc Valèe of last year's Dallas Buyers Club, I was going into this hoping for a brilliant film, instead I came away with great cinematography, an unbelievable Reese Witherspoon and misguided story that wants to be something more than "a woman and the wilderness" movie. Well, unfortunately, its not. Valèe seems to have exhausted his talents into last year's Dallas Buyers Club rather than into Wild. My problems with this film exude my likes, obviously but one thing about this film that I can't seem to shake is Witherspoon. I don't buy her as this character, she can't pass as a woman who is a drinker and a drug abuser because quite frankly, she looks terrible on screen doing these things. I don't buy it for a second, it is like watching a student film rehash of a better performance and cringing at how bad the student screws it up. The role of Cheryl was clearly meant for someone with a better range than Witherspoon. I'm all for an actor to transform themselves to fit a film, much like McCounaghey did for Dallas Buyers. But Witherspoon seems so hesitant to do anything other than gain five pounds and not wear make-up for the entire film. No, it doesn't make it look like she has a drug and alcohol problem or is conflicted or is realistic, it just makes for a lazy performance and it is one I couldn't commit to for a two hour film. As far as the screenplay is concerned...well, what screenplay, it is mostly Reese Witherspoon trekking across the Pacific trail while reminiscing about past times and discovering dead end relationships along the way. It is a bare bones script from a bare bones book that was equally disappointing. However, the film may be boring and painfully slow, but the cinematography here was fantastic. There are some truly beautiful moments in this film regarding the way it looks. Outside Witherspoon, the supporting cast features Gabby Hoffman and Laura Dern and both of which deliver good performances. Overall, Wild features some great cinematography and a truly shoddy performance from Witherspoon. I can't begin to explain why she is being praised for taking off make up and walking on a trail for a two hour film. It isn't a brave performance, its a lazy one and an even lazier film. Wild is far from Sean Penn's Into the Wild, which I'm sure will be the base of comparison and feels more like a half baked version of it.