Somewhere between Into The Wild and Ray Mears’ Wilderness Walks lies Wild, Reese Witherspoon’s hotly-tipped character drama. It’s set along the stunning vistas of the American west and has a new poster showing Witherspoon as the story’s heroine, Cheryl Strayed. Click on the pic for a closer look.
Strayed’s book, Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail, tells the story of her attempt to walk the length of that path. Bearing in mind it spans California and Oregon and ends on the border of Washington State, and considering her hiking experience to that point was nil, this undertaking was not, to the outsider's eyes, wholly sensible. But Strayed was driven by more elemental forces – grief, heartbreak and enough person demons to populate a Stephen King novel – and she set off on a journey that would change her (and her feet) forever.
Witherspoon, who also produced, hired Nick Hornby to script the adaptation. There’ll be Oscar hopes for them both - for Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay respectively - as well as a possible Best Film nod. Director Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club, of course, made a sizeable stir at this year’s Academy Awards and his feel for intimate moments set against a grand canvas is in full effect on this one.
This clip from the film shows that moment all wilderness lovers can probably relate to: the wish-fulfilment of reaching base and stocking up on creature comforts. In **Zombieland **it was Twinkies; here it’s Snapple.
**Wild **will be on our big screens in its entirety on January 16.