Wild Cert: 15 / 115 mins / Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée / Trailer
You know what, I suspect that I'm not exactly the ideal target-demographic to get the most out of this film. I mean that shouldn't matter, obviously. A well-told story is still a well-told story, and Wild is a solidly assembled film indeed. It's more the story itself I couldn't get along with.
After the death of her mother leading to some cataclysmically poor life-choices, Cheryl Strayed looks to reconnect with herself on the Pacific Crest Trail, a mapped journey stretching from the Mexican border to Canadian one. Armed with only uncertainty, a backpack which weighs as much as she does, and a pair of chino-shorts which will offer her legs no protection whatsoever from the extremes of temperature or the desert and forest terrain she'll encounter along the way (she has proper trousers, she just spends most of the film wearing the shorts), Cheryl sets off to discover… well, I'm not sure, exactly.
The part I feel worst about, is that this is a true and often horrific story, yet I couldn't feel any sympathy for Cheryl before, during or after her journey. Her remarkably solitude-free hike*1 is punctuated regularly with flashbacks of the points in her life which led her to poorly-conceiving the trek, but for all the terrible decisions Cheryl made, the film seems to have her showing a worrying lack of contrition for the pain she caused others. By the time Ms Strayed stands in the rain giving life-lessons to a kid who's in need of acting-lessons, you can smell the finish line and it's all over bar a quick burst of crying and a 'oh alright then, I forgive me'.
As journeys of self-discovery go, Wild is less 'the road to Damascus' and more 'are we there yet?'.
Although to be fair, if I woke up one morning with Cheryl Strayed's pre-journey life, I'd probably walk a thousand miles to get away from me, too.
Oh, ignore me. You'll probably like it.
In all honesty, I don't think it is.
Hallmark Channel, Sunday afternoon.
Although they'll probably cut out the tits and the heroin, I imagine.
It's certainly a good performance from Reece Witherspoon, but she can do more when she's got more to work with.
Oh, probably.
Nah.
There isn't.
Witherspoon starred in Four Christmases alongside Jon Favreau, the voice of Mandalorian warlord Pre Vizsla in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
*1 It's a pre-mapped trail, remember. Not like Robyn Davidson upping sticks and walking across Australia largely because she was bored of herself. And now look. I'm comparing the film unfavourably with another film that I didn't particularly love, either. THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BROUGHT ME TO.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
I've got to hand it to Matthew McConaughey, he's turning out some great performances these days. Leading up Dallas Buyers Club, he portrays Ron Woodroof, a cowboy, hustler and general ne'er-do-well diagnosed with HIV in 1985, just as the condition was grabbing the headlines. Unable to receive either effective medication to alleviate the symptoms (or even reliable information on medication) through official channels, he begins to import "unapproved" drugs and supplements to help others like him, under the constant eye of the authorities.
While McConaughey plays Ron as likeable, he's very careful not to go so far as to make him outright loveable. Dealing with a Robin Hood-type figure, it would have been easier to make the movie massively sentimental; but emotional as it gets, Woodroof retains some of his sharper edges, and is far more interesting for it. Threatening to steal the show at any moment is Jared Leto as Rayon, an HIV-positive pre-op transgender woman who helps Rob find customers for the meds, and ultimately helps run the 'buyers club', all the time battling demons of her own. In any other film, Leto's would be the stand-out performance, but restrained direction and excellent performances from both Leto and McConaughey make it more of a shared stage. Jennifer Garner supports ably as a nurse torn between her professional ethics and doubting the tactics of the FDA, but I'm not sure this is the right part for her (or the part's been under-written a little, I'm not sure). Then again, there's so much emoting between Ron, his hick former-friends and family, and Rayon, that there's actually very little for Garner's Eve to add.
And yet, as fantastic as the film is, it does start to sag under its weight in the second hour. It's not that the film is too long, just that the most compelling parts are in the first two acts. The ending seems robbed of the depth it should have because it's dragged its heels in getting there. And yes, I know exactly how insensitive that sounds. I'm aware that the dramatic elements of the film are directed by the real-life events behind them, but director Vallée seems to lose the pacing once the finish-line's in sight.
Largely.
Mostly.
Certainly.
Despite being screened in 2.35:1, it's not especially cinematic, so it may be a night in for you. But if you want to see it, don't hesitate.
A little.
I doubt I'll seek it out, but I certainly won't avoid it.
There isn't.
Why didn't the FDA and the police shut Ron down sooner? They didn't seem to pull any magic card out of the hat when they did intervene, and it's not like he was keeping it a secret?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
