Wild

With the title Wild and the premise an 1100-mile hike for which a hiker is woefully unprepared, one would think that the movie would be dramatic and dangerous and even a bit engaging. The Reese Witherspoon film, however, is almost boring as it’s the story of a young woman taking a Sunday walk that is extended to fit into a 2-hour time frame.

One distraction is that Witherspoon never “weathers.” Another character mentions her body odor, but the character’s clothes aren’t filthy and her hair isn’t that dirty. She takes a long shower that features dirt washing off her body, but she never appears to be that dirty in the film. Her face remains untouched even by the extreme desert sun. Anyone else hiking through the desert would show signs of sunburn, but Witherspoon's face remains untouched by the elements.

She comes across a rattlesnake in the desert early on in the film, but doesn’t freak out: she calmly steps widely around it and goes on with her walk. In a potential rape scene, she stands, stares, and doesn’t say a word: she relies on divine intervention to save her, which, of course, it does. When she encounters the fields of snow, she trudges on, seemingly without a care in the world. Even losing her boots is a magic moment as she duck tapes some sandals to her feet and goes on her merry way.

There is no dramatic tension, no inciting incident that makes the hike terrifying. Her past flies in and out of the film, with Laura Dern, the actress playing Witherspoon’s dead mother, stealing the movie. The hike becomes second fiddle to the death of her beloved mother, so the hike loses its focus as the coming of age journey of a woman who cannot accept her mother’s death. Even her past drug use and engaging in promiscuous sex aren't shocking. And the appearance of her spirit guide, a red fox, takes away from the story, rather than adding a dramatic element.

I would not recommend this movie, even as a rental to view at home, because the movie just doesn' work on so many levels. I found the movie lacking from the beginning to the sudden stop. Yes, there is no ending, no denouement; it just shows her standing on a bridge and seeing for the last time, we presume, the red fox. A voice-over informs the audience that she later marries and has children, then we’re done. And, as far as a nomination for Witherspoon for an Oscar, believe me when I tell you that her acting is not worthy of that pestigious award!