United States of America

Drama

HikingWildernessBiographyBased on true storyMemoryBased on memoir or autobiographyDivorcee1990s

Jean-Marc Vallée

Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Keene McRae, Gaby Hoffmann, Michiel Huisman, Kevin Rankin

Nick Hornby

bob industries, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Pacific Standard

Taglines: Based on the inspirational best seller.

A woman with a tragic past decides to start her new life by hiking for one thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Reviews:

Author: Rangan
> Return to where we've come from to revive our life. Ever since the movie 'Dallas Buyers Club' grabbed the three golden statues at the Oscars, the director has been in the spotlight. But I was enjoying his movies before that and yet this one is another remarkable adventurous-drama based on the real expedition into the wild. Cheryl Strayed whose story was this film based upon appeared in the beginning scene where she drops off her version of the movie character and wishes her a luck. The world is round, you can't runaway with your problems. If you do, you might end up where you have started. That's why its called a circle of life, goes round and round and round. You can hide your issues with yourself, but it may lead to a depression. Sometime when an experiment goes wrong, it's better to restart from the scratch with a different method. Here in our (human) lives some people do the same, return to where we've come from to restore the lost life. Of course I said all these, because this flick was inspired by such real incident. I prefer this film was very close to the Australian movie 'Tracks' than bringing 'Into the Wild' into the frame. Obviously the Australian movie and this one are about the two young women, but the thing is, the story deals with the different motivation for their decision to take part in the quest. The Aussie flick has an edge over this when it comes to the challenges faced during the journey and also I loved from narration to photography, music and performance. Since they both inspired by the true story, I appreciate the filmmaker's effort to bring them into the screen and salute to those two magnificent ladies. In both the films, both the women psychologically affected by their earlier stage of lives which was one of the reasons to step into the wild. I feel, 'Tracks' should have been nominated instead this movie for the Academy Awards. > I've always been someone's daughter or mother or wife. > I never got to be in the driver's seat of my own life. It was a wonderful 2014 for Reese Witherspoon. Back to back career reviving; biographical and inspiring human emotion movies in this graphic, sci-fi and fantasy dominated era. The year's sweetheart for the critics and I doubt there will be another same year. Remember, she was nominated for the Oscars for her role in this film. The disappointment was the adventures. Not what I expected. The struggles were unable to reach for our deep heart compared to other self-discovery voyage films. Weight she carried and losing a toe nail, I don't see much impact because those are supposed to happen. This PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) is well planned and partially protected the hikers with all the needs supplied all along the route. The only thing they have to do is stay away from the wild lives and watch-out for the intruders between the checkpoints. In other end coping with depression was what I loved in the movie. Without those flashbacks this film was nothing. Literally, this story all about the mental healing. The pain she carried, she just wanted to eject it from her body and mind, and the journey helped it. The funny thing is I liked Laura Dern a lot than anybody in the movie. Her character as well as her dialogues was very inspiring. Her nominee for the actress in a supporting role was justified. I can watch this film again and again, only for her alone, sadly she won't appear for a long stay. I loved it, but not completely pleased with the product. The reason is 'Tracks'. I think the film came at the wrong time or maybe I saw this one when the other flick was still hot and fresh in my memory. An achievement is an achievement, I respect both the films. You like the movie or not, that's a secondary thought regarding movie's outcome. But it's a must see for disclosing the extraordinary adventure of an ordinary young woman. 7.5/10