Another stunning and emotionally provocative film for the awards season.
Wild is the true-story of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent catastrophe.
At this time of the year we see many hyped films released for the awards season and for the Christmas break. However, prior to seeing Wild I had not heard much about the story and had no prior expectations. I was absolutely blown away by this film.
Reese Witherspoon delivers an astonishing performance and really displays the tortured soul of the character as she fights for her redemption. You can clearly see why she has been nominated for the Academy Award. The whole film really rests on her shoulder’s, as she’s the only consistent character throughout. This film was also produced by Reese Witherspoon and her production company Pacific Standard, while some may have criticised Reese Witherspoon at the start of her career, she has clearly grown and developed as an actress and as a business woman.
The rest of the cast were strong and while Laura Dern who plays the leading character’s mother gives a strong performance I wouldn’t deem it an Oscar worthy performance. Other stand out performers include Michiel Huisman, Thomas Sadoski and Keene McRae.
Another wonderful quality of this film was it’s outstanding cinematography, it was shot on location for the most part and the way cinematographer Yves Bélanger has captured the impressive scenery is sometimes haunting, and intense, while other times it relaxes you into watching Cheryl’s journey.
This also is not a main-stream film, while due to the Oscar hype more people may see it, for the most part Wild will remain under the radar. I strongly encourage you to see this emotionally driven film, with a powerful performance by Reece Witherspoon, but also warn you it is another artsy film that may not be to everyone’s taste.
4.5 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of Palace Nova Cinemas