adequate-watch - WILD [2014, US - English]
- let me start by reiterating one of my overused mantras, i've never understood the accolades lauded by critics over reese witherspoon, nor can i ever see her standing in the same league of credible names like nicole kidman, cate blanchett, meryl streep or jessica chastain (yet chastain has never won an oscar while witherspoon "sang" her way to a clean sweep for best actress in all major film awards in 2005 for "walk the line"). my mantra stays after watching wild
- portraying cheryl strayed who decides to embark on a 1,100-mile hike on the pacific crest trail to regain control of her life after the dissolution of her marriage, premature death of her mother whilst dealing with sex and drug addiction, witherspoon did nothing to convince us of the complicated & conflicting sides of the character who is both aggrieved yet strong. we are somehow treated to a string of rather bland episodes of her walking & carrying a really heavy backpack, panting, grunting, and occasionally experiencing flashbacks of her past and moments shared with her mother (laura dern, who also to me earned another less-worthy oscar nomination for supporting actress)
- the film remains rather "flat" throughout, offering no highlights of how the lead character experiences perhaps some awakening moments which lead her to the turning point of her ailing life. the message was huge, wow, a woman hiking over a thousand miles all alone to seek salvation, yet the film wasn't uplifting enough. i for one could not relate to such a level after watching
- i am going hard on my review bearing in mind that this is a film praised as witherspoon's "come back", garnering oscar nominations for best film, best actress & best supporting actress categories
RATING : C-
#wild #wildMovie #reeseWitherspoon #films #filmReview #movie #movieReview #drama #cherylStrayed
No comments:
Post a Comment