Movie Review: Wild (2014)

Movie Review Score: 4-stars; I liked it a lot!

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Biography/Memoir, Health & Fitness/Sports & Recreation, Self-Discovery/Change

Places Featured: Pacific Crest Trail, United States

As you may know, I enjoy books and movies about self-discovery and personal change. Throw in a beautiful destination and a strong female as the main character and I’m definitely in. So, as soon as Cheryl Strayed’s novel came out in 2012, I read it. (Check out my Wild book review written that summer.) And then two years later when the movie came out, I watched it, too. If I wrote a movie review of it back then, I couldn’t find it, so I thought I should watch it again.

And I’m glad I did.

I had forgotten what a powerful and emotional story is told in this movie. It’s the true story of Cheryl Strayed, played expertly by Reese Witherspoon, as she hikes 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. That alone is a feat to be examined and would make for an interesting travel story, but this movie (and Cheryl’s trek) is more than just a physical journey–it is also an emotional journey.

With the use of flashbacks, Wild helps us understand why Cheryl has decided to take on this monumental challenge all alone without any hiking experience or training–she needs to heal. Cheryl was close to her mother (played by another great actress, Laura Dern) and when her mother passed away unexpectedly, Cheryl went into a downward spiral.

The movie is done well and, unlike many other adaptations, doesn’t stray too far from the book. As is often the case, you do lose some of background story and you do lose some of the main character’s emotional struggle…which means it’s a little more difficult to connect to her and really understand her, her past, and her growth through the hike–the ending, then, is a bit abrupt and you don’t fully appreciate just how far she’s come and just how she found her strength to step off the trail and step back into real life.

If you like hiking (especially if you’re considering a thru-hike like the PCT) and movies about self-growth, you’ll like this movie. (I also recommend checking out our list of 20 Travel Books and 20 Travel Movies about Self-Discovery–it includes both the Wild book and Wild movie.)