Reviews for this film from our members:
- [New – 5/28/15] | Dragan Antulov @ FAK [Croatian]
- José Arce @ LaButaca.net [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Tras la deslumbrante “Dallas Buyers Club”, Jean-Marc Vallée propone un nuevo biopic notable en su disposición y emocionante en muchos tramos, pero plomizo en otros. Gran trabajo de su pareja principal.
- Jason Bailey @ Flavorwire
- Excerpt: There’s no question that empty, random sexual encounters aren’t exactly a five-star coping mechanism, but the presentation of female sexual aggressiveness as the ultimate debasement is slightly problematic. What’s worse, Vallée wants to have it both ways; if the sex scenes are tragic emblems of Strayed’s downfall, they’re also shot and cut in the formal language of filmed erotica, carefully framing Witherspoon’s nude body less for emotional impact than for the titillation of an infrequently disrobed star baring all for “the right role.”
- David Bax @ Battleship Pretension
- Excerpt: When people compare films to the work of Terrence Malick, they are usually talking about aesthetics. Wild doesn’t look like a Malick film but it is heartbreakingly specific and tender while simultaneously vast and contemplative in ways any Malick fan should recognize.
- Nicholas Bell @ Ioncinema
- Tim Brayton @ Antagony & Ecstasy
- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A soul-stretching movie about surviving in the wilderness, a solid mother and daughter relationship, and bringing out the best in yourself.
- Bill Clark @ From The Balcony
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: With an impressive physical and emotional performance from producer Witherspoon and a heart breaking yet joyous turn from Dern, “Wild” is not only a self-reflective adventure tale but a deeply moving mother/daughter story.
- Edwin Davies @ A Mighty Fine Blog
- Excerpt: One of the underlying themes of Wild is that life is hard, particularly if you’re on the road, particularly if you’re on your own, and especially if you’re a woman. There are no easy answers in Cheryl Strayed’s journey.
- Jim Dixon @ Examiner.com
- Excerpt: The journey is both geographic and psychic, and Witherspoon is never less than involving along the way. What she doesn’t do, ever, is make us forget she’s a movie star in an obvious Oscar bid.
- Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: The physical backdrop of the story is the trail, but the far more vital and vibrant one is the repetitive, unceasing terrain of Cheryl’s memory.
- James Jay Edwards @ FilmFracture
- Excerpt: Wild’ Is A Wildly Unbalanced Journey, But At Least It’s Pretty
- Marilyn Ferdinand @ Ferdy on Films
- Excerpt: Wild is a showcase for Witherspoon, a controlled, conventional actor who is a good fit for this material. Ultimately, despite the many good things it has going for it, Wild left me sadly uninspired.
- Candice Frederick @ Reel Talk Online
- Dustin Freeley @ Movies About Gladiators
- Excerpt: Wild posits that plot might be tertiary…it might be right.
- Kimberly Gadette @ doddle
- Excerpt: At the end of the long and winding road, between lack of dramatic heft and a character arc that’s as slender as a sapling, we’re left wondering just where the Wild went.
- Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: ‘Wild’ is another tour de force starring Reese Witherspoon in which she puts aside her good girl guise to portray a woman determined to face her life’s mistakes on a 1,000 mile hike alone.
- Susan Granger @ www.susangranger.com
- Excerpt: A compassionate, arduous, stream-of-consciousness journey of self-discovery…
- Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: There will be inevitable comparisons to Into the Wild, the tale of Christopher McCandless in the Alaskan wilderness. The difference is Cheryl Strayed is a more sympathetic character.
- Travis Hopson @ Examiner
- Excerpt: Bristles with emotional resonance and enlightenment.
- MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: A film full of spectacular landscapes of both the natural world and the human spirit. This is what it looks like when women get to be people onscreen.
- Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: Our protagonist’s multiple poor life choices fail to produce a bountiful level of empathy for her situation, yet Wild is frequently an engrossing and enjoyable experience.
- Jennie Kermode @ Eye For Film
- Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Wild is a slightly familiar journey of self-discovery and perseverance that hits the viewer with a moving catharsis. In playing the real Cheryl Strayed, Reese Witherspoon has never been this raw, shaded, brave, emotionally (and literally) naked, and unglamorous.
- Kristin Dreyer Kramer @ NightsAndWeekends.com
- Glenn Lovell @ CinemaDope.com
- Excerpt: …. a soggy, New Age-y variant on ‘Eat Pray Love’ … Instead of survival tips we get a feature-length selfie … Belongs in the self-help bin at Barnes & Noble
- Marty Mapes @ Movie Habit
- Excerpt: Engrossing story of two parts may be Witherspoon’s best role yet
- Alan Mattli @ Facing the Bitter Truth [German]
- Excerpt: The problems of Vallée’s direction, hinted at in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, become blatant in ‘Wild’, which survives thanks to Reese Witherspoon’s gritty leading performance.
- Simon Miraudo @ Quickflix
- Pat Mullen @ Cinemablographer
- Excerpt: This is how you do a great adaptation.
- Frank Ochieng @ Sound on Sight
- Excerpt: …a stark and elegant piece of filmmaking that is as powerfully conceived as it is personally realized. Vibrantly rich and introspective, Wild is unflinching in its examination of a lost woman looking to be found through the healing of an isolated adventurous power walk through the scenic west coast wilderness.
- João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Um poderoso drama humano que merece ser abraçado por todos.
- Jason Pirodsky @ Expats.cz
- Excerpt: This film version, however, fails to fully come together in dramatic terms, or give us enough reason to care about Strayed and her journey. It is, however, a heckuva lot easier to take than Eat Pray Love.
- Jamie S. Rich @ Oregon Live
- Excerpt: The best stuff in “Wild” is the simplest. The movie is at its strongest when it’s just Strayed out in the wilderness, seeing what there is to see and finding the strength to keep going.
- Jerry Roberts @ Armchair Cinema
- Excerpt: Wild sounds like the kind of outdoor travelogue that Walt Disney use to make. Today, in the 21st century, it’s not good enough to simply show someone communing with nature. Now, we have to leaden the story with the interior struggle, with horrid flashbacks to unhappiness and tragedy.
- Diego Salgado @ Guía del Ocio [Spanish]
- Tom Santilli @ Examiner.com
- Excerpt: Wild is much more character study than adventure, and has more to offer than just watching our protagonist learn how to survive.
- Cole Smithey @ ColeSmithey.com
- Excerpt: “Wild” is an unsatisfying self-help drama that exposes the limitations of Reese Witherspoon’s range.
- Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Inspiring and thought-provoking — but gruelling to watch.
- Sarah Ward @ FilmInk
