Thoughts on the movie 'Wild'

After sitting through the long, tedious movie 'Wild' my brain is almost as numb as my butt.  At 1 hour and 55 minutes, the movie isn't really as long as it seems.  It was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee from a script by Nick Hornby adapted from the memoir 'Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail' by Cheryl Strayed and starring Reese Witherspoon as Ms. Strayed and Laura Dern as her mother.

Movie poster for 'Wild'.

Briefly, it is about hiking, extreme hiking, as therapy -- instead of the five stages of grief or the 12-steps of recovery.  Cheryl has lost her mother to cancer and her marriage to serial infidelity and heroin addiction.  So she decides to walk the 1,100 mile Pacific Crest Trail.  I lost count, but I think it took 94 days during which she encountered numerous catastrophes and became a better person.

The movie is scattered with quotes from Robert Frost, James Michener and many others.  The use of mumbled, incoherent voice-over and brief incoherent flashbacks leave the viewer confused and ultimately indifferent to Cheryl and her problems.

Witherspoon will obviously be in the running for the Oscar.  Laura Dern has already won the Gotham award for best supporting actress.  If you have a high threshold for boredom or a need to enhance your feminist credentials see this movie.  Otherwise, stay home and take a nap.