But unlike Into The Wild, the character intentions of going on an epic journey is slightly different and definitely more emotional.
Wild sees Cheryl Strayed ending a tough decade by going on the Pacific Crest Trail to basically clear the air and find her new place in this world.
From the opening scene, you can already tell that this is going to be an epic journey and that everyone is invited to experience this extraordinary true story.
With a great mix of flash-backs and inspiring moments during her journey, we see great development of not just the main character but the surroundings and landscape of the PCT.
Then after a pleasant ending, I could not stop thinking about how enjoyable this really is.
With much of the movie involving walking and our main character talking to herself, the use of flash backs and moments in her past gives the film the engagement and it hooks you in from start to finish.
Reese Witherspoon is simply brilliant in this. It is great to see her bring a powerhouse performance that puts her back on the map of high-level acting.
You really feel and sympathise for her character. She is well deserving of her Oscar nomination. There are some moments in her flash-back scenes that initially seem illogical, but she seems to make it work and it just further enhances her performance.
A lot of the minor characters were perfectly fine and helped our main star along the way. Laura Dern was a particular standout.
One aspect of a film that I do not usually comment on, is the sound. Wild, certainly got me noticing the use of the sound.
Whether it was Witherspoon's character's thoughts, flashbacks or the soundtrack, it was cleverly used and became and integral part to my viewing.
I do not really have any negatives. You may think that surely this means it gets at least a 9 rating. But it did not give me that much of an impact to warrant a 9. The only reason that I can give is that the good stuff mainly felt nice and pleasant rather than me saying "wow" and being completely blown away by it.
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot more then I expected. I imagined it to be very good, but nothing would amaze me to give this amount of high praise. It is certainly an inspiring view. It makes you want to do something so unbelievable that nobody thought you would ever do.
There are many topics that this films covers and covers well. It somehow manages to show us a lot of what modern America has become, which I was not expecting from this.
But fair play to the director who has made another Oscar contender. He continues to give us unforgettable performances by actors who are looking for a bit of a comeback e.g. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.
It is great to see Witherspoon back on top of her game with another gem to add to her portfolio. She deserves every nomination and possibly win that is coming to her over the next couple of months.
Finally, the big thing that has seemed to make this really enjoyable viewing, was that none of the film was ever "touched up". It never needed unnecessary drama, explosion, epic action scenes or a big fan fare to stamp its patriotic approval. The film's use of internal monologue, brief dialogue and silent moments really grabbed my attention, and I hope it does with others.
Rating: 8/10
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