3 stars (out of four)
This year's superior movie about a young woman going on a very long walk, "Wild" bests the recent "Tracks" (which starred Mia Wasikowska) in that it feels like a true story actually told in detail. And it gives its star more to do than sweat in extreme heat. Though there is that, too.
Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) leaves Minneapolis and sets herself on the Pacific Crest Trail, more than 1,000 miles of desert and mountain with hardly anyone in sight for days. Her shoes are too small; her pack is too big. She brings the wrong fuel for her stove, and this is the kind of experience in which the difference between cold mush and hot mush matters. It's evident she's less clear about where she's traveling than what she's escaping.
In flashback sequences that explore Cheryl's memories while also answering questions a bit too cleanly, writer Nick Hornby (the novelist known for "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy") and director Jean-Marc Vallee ("Dallas Buyers Club") trace the decisions of a person who experiences great emptiness and searches desperately for a way to feel something other than hollow. This doesn't address why Cheryl retreats from her eventual ex-husband (Thomas Sadoski) in a time of need. But this adaptation of Strayed's book brings a clear focus on Cheryl's mother (Laura Dern, wonderful), a woman who looks on the bright side of a cloudy situation and sets an example for a daughter who learns what kind of person she wants to be even when her inspiration is gone.
Like "Tracks,""Wild" sometimes struggles to present the joyous highs and terrifying lows of the journey. Several possible sleazebags are introduced and discarded along the way. It's hard to end a story like this without just spelling out lessons. Maybe the movie could have followed Cheryl's life a bit farther.
Witherspoon is terrific, though. Her Cheryl is determined and afraid; self-preserving and vulnerable; strong and flying by the seat of her pants. With limited options, she must trust strangers while also finding an exit strategy. She must live with her mistakes as she embarks on a mission to recover from them. And she must understand that while the guidebook's pages from your past can be burned, it doesn't mean you weren't there, or that those experiences weren't essential in your journey.
Watch Matt review the week's big new movies Fridays at 11:30 a.m. on NBC.
mpais@tribune.com
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