GAYLETTER

If someone tells you to go see a Reese Witherspoon film you have a right to be skeptical. Her recent filmography doesn’t scream “must see!” However I ask that you withhold your Witherspoonian biases for one moment. Wild, her most recent film, is really good. It’s based on the Cheryl Strayed memoir of the same name and tells the story of a young woman whose life spirals out of control after the death of her wonderfully adorable mother, played by Laura Dern. Cheryl is married, but she’s out every night fucking random dudes, and eventually shooting heroin. As a hail Mary, last ditch attempt to save herself, she decides to spend what little money she has on camping equipment so she can hike the Pacific Crest Trail…alone. The trail starts at the border of Mexico and ends at the border of Canada. It takes about 3 months and exposes you to pretty much every climate you can think of.

Directed by Dallas Buyer’s Club’s Jean-Marc Vallée, with a screenplay by the wonderfully talented Nick Hornby, Wild is pretty much custom made for me. It’s a tale of redemption and triumph over adversity, set in the woods, with a strong female lead — I was bawling my eyes out from the opening scene, but not in a bad way. I love traveling and love travel films. I have long known that changing your surroundings is a powerful way to change your brain, (basically seeing new things forces your brain to build new neural pathways which weakens those older destructive ones (it’s science!)).

I have a feeling Reese will get nominated for an Oscar, but don’t get caught up in all that hoopla, she is great in the role, but I think many other actresses would have been too. The writing and direction are what carry this film, and the main reasons I suggest you give it a chance.

In cinemas now.