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Movie rec: Wild
Nov. 7th, 2018 07:15 pmI picked up "Wild," the movie based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir, from the library, mostly on a whim. I loved it.
Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl, who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo. We follow her along the trail and also see, in flashbacks, what led her here. She was very close to her mother (played by Laura Dern), and her mother died fairly young from cancer. Cheryl in her grief descends into drugs and sex with strangers. She decides to hike the PCT as a way of finding her best self, and "putting herself in the way of beauty."
At the beginning, she can barely lift her pack, and she brings the wrong fuel for her camp stove. But things get easier. The landscapes were wonderful and I fell into this movie, transported into her journey across deserts, through forests and snow-covered hills. I appreciate films that rely less on dialog, and do their story telling visually, which this film does well.
I appreciated that Strayed self-identifies as a feminist. She's a reader and a thinker and is quite independent. We see some very interesting interactions with strangers, especially men. For instance, at a gas station early in the film, Strayed looks around for people to ask for a ride. Two adult men, bearded: her eyes keep moving. A man and his teenage son: likely safe. There's a farmer that she asks for help; he starts out creepy but gets less creepy as she gets a better sense of him. There were a bunch of these little interactions protrayed, moments that are so familiar to women, but that we hardly ever see in media.
The music was also excellent: Simon and Garfunkel, First Aid Kit, and others. Very recommended film.
Content notes: drugs, alcohol, semi-public sex, a creepy guy that Strayed has to run away from, a death from cancer, a horse is put down.
Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl, who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo. We follow her along the trail and also see, in flashbacks, what led her here. She was very close to her mother (played by Laura Dern), and her mother died fairly young from cancer. Cheryl in her grief descends into drugs and sex with strangers. She decides to hike the PCT as a way of finding her best self, and "putting herself in the way of beauty."
At the beginning, she can barely lift her pack, and she brings the wrong fuel for her camp stove. But things get easier. The landscapes were wonderful and I fell into this movie, transported into her journey across deserts, through forests and snow-covered hills. I appreciate films that rely less on dialog, and do their story telling visually, which this film does well.
I appreciated that Strayed self-identifies as a feminist. She's a reader and a thinker and is quite independent. We see some very interesting interactions with strangers, especially men. For instance, at a gas station early in the film, Strayed looks around for people to ask for a ride. Two adult men, bearded: her eyes keep moving. A man and his teenage son: likely safe. There's a farmer that she asks for help; he starts out creepy but gets less creepy as she gets a better sense of him. There were a bunch of these little interactions protrayed, moments that are so familiar to women, but that we hardly ever see in media.
The music was also excellent: Simon and Garfunkel, First Aid Kit, and others. Very recommended film.
Content notes: drugs, alcohol, semi-public sex, a creepy guy that Strayed has to run away from, a death from cancer, a horse is put down.
