RATH'S REVIEWS: Wild

Every year I see at least one film that, for some reason or another, sticks with me more than I anticipated it would.

Last year it was definitely The Place Beyond the Pines and kinda-sorta Spring Breakers (although I would be willing to bet that's because of Franco's funny performance and the brilliant Britney Spears scene).

So far this year, Gone Girl has had a much longer lasting effect on me than I would have guessed, as well as the fantastic, Whiplash.

What's most interesting about my point is how subjective this all is to the viewer. While many are pining over Boyhood and Birdman, those films just didn't really connect with me on a deeper level, and that's OK for both parties. But last night I saw a film that I know, immediately, will have a lasting effect on me:

Wild.

I recently read the book per the suggestion of my girlfriend and I enjoyed it, but I didn't wholly connect to the main character Cheryl Strayed. I found the writing style was solid, but the book was a bit too random for my liking, often switching from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to memories earlier in her life without much transition. Regardless of that, it was clear that Strayed's story was a worthwhile one, but I was nervous to see how well it would actually transfer to the medium of film.

Scared of the past few years of her career...

I was blown away by the adaptation of this novel and, much like this year's adaptation of Gone Girl, I would argue that this is one of those rare instances where the movie is superior to the book. The film does indeed suffer from some of the randomness of the novel (I would argue to a much lesser degree) and there is a certain amount of fatigue that comes with watching Reese Witherspoon hike for almost two hours, but all things considered, director Jean-Marc Vallee (who also directed Dallas Buyers Club which I unfortunately did not see) creates a phenomenal film full of passion, growth, and exploration for the central character.

As I stated earlier, one of the parts of the novel that sometimes bothered me was the randomness of Strayed's narrative which was essentially train-of-thought as one's mind wanders all different places while hiking alone. Luckily, Vallee had a good grasp on what portions of her personal life pre-hike that he wanted to display and the editing featured in Wild is haunting...at times jarring, but almost always foreshadowing the flashback that is coming. It's a brilliant technique and despite being a tad overused, it really helps to connect the hiking journey to the journey that put Strayed on the trail more than the book was able to accomplish. The editing is assisted by the phenomenal cinematography, which is more than just the beautiful visuals along the hike, creative decisions like hearing the rambling going on in Witherspoon's head, as well as a well-crafted original score and soundtrack that fit the film's themes perfectly.

In the year's oddest twist, Strayed turns into a fox and terrorizes the PCT!

Equally as impressive is Witherspoon's dedication to the role and her portrayal of not just a Strayed that is finding herself on the trail, but as the Strayed that lost herself beforehand. It's the best performance of her career, and it will most likely single-handedly revive said career. Cheryl is a character that I think all audiences can connect to in some way, shape, or form simply as life has worn her down. Granted we all don't take the path she chose or hit rock bottom quite as hard as she did, but it's a real example that feels like it and by the time the film is over there are more than a handful of lessons the audience can choose to walk away with.

Wild is honestly one of the more impressive films that I've seen this year as it's a brilliant combination of acting, editing, cinematography, and music to not only tell the arduous journey of Cheryl Strayed, but to improve on it.

Too bad Smell-O-Vision hasn't become mainstream yet!

Will it make my Top 10? I'm not sure as I haven't given that list much thought in the last few months but I know it's very competitive at this point. Either way, that shouldn't detract from the fact that Wild is one of the year's best films.

CONS:

The movie slows in certain spots

Watching Witherspoon hike for the length of the film does get a bit exhausting

Some edits are a little too random, or too abrupt, to make much sense

PROS:

A fantastic adaptation that, in my opinion, surpasses the book. Great direction by Jean Marc Vallee

The scene editing is nothing short of brilliant and really lends itself to making the film much more haunting (in a good way) than one would expect. This aspect really elevates the film in my eyes

A career defining performance by Witherspoon who completely owns the role. She presents us with a Cheryl Strayed that we can connect to and one that has true pain