Nathaniel's adventures in Toronto. Running on fumes...
Color me surprised that my favorite among the consensus Best Picture hopeful Oscar launches from festival season (the others being Foxcatcher, Imitation Game and Theory of Everything... though I have yet to see Birdman which didn't play here) is Jean-Marc Vallée's Wild, an adaptation of the memoir by Cheryl Strayed. How could a months long solo hike across the Pacific Crest Trail be so cinematic? The answer is in its smart mosaic, visual and aural, as Reese hikes through expansive physical and intimate mental terrain. The present and the past converse and overlap consistently in the sound design like fragments of song sung, hummed or played as if remembered - who is singing? and snippets of dialogue the same evocative way.
There's not much to say about the plot, the film's most recent kin being Into the Wild though Wild is the stronger film. Reese Witherspoon reminds us why we were all so excited about her in the first place with effortless star magnetism. She doesn't turn on any megawatt charm or do anything strenuous at all with it other than trust that innate cinematic charisma to walk with her on the trail as film-elevating protective gear. That's gear Cheryl needs because those boots aren't made for walking and good god she's got a lot of baggage, both literal (her comically large backpack) and metaphoric, having let herself completely spiral towards a personal abyss with the death of her mother.
Laura Dern, forgiving and effortfully positive, as the best mothers-who've-had-it-rough can be for their children, provides a beautifully warm counterpart to Reese's often tetchy and nervous amateur hiker who is still very pissed at herself for the ruins of her life; the look Reese gives herself in the occasional mirror tells you quite a lot about how far she still has to go to be at peace with herself.
Wild might not be the type of film that would be easy to rewatch and it isn't a thrill-in-minute (though its range of emotions surprises from quite funny to heart-aching helped a lot by tiny cameos from actors she meets along the way) but as an in-the-moment meditation, peering in on one woman's difficult walk back towards her better self, it's a memorable and satisfying experience. Join the "Reeseurgence", people (thanks, Katey). You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Full disclosure: I was in a very good mood when I saw this movie since the reception beforehand was a good time and THE FACE herself, Laura Dern, was just as friendly as the last time I met her (with her superfan Glenn at an event for her father's Oscar run last year).
On the other hand I've been in a good mood all week - I've seen only a few things that I didn't like and loving this festival even more than usual - so perhaps chatting with the Dern (who is in a lot more of this movie than I was expecting) didn't effect my judgment at all. Just thought I'd mention it because we all know that time, place, mood, and circumstance effect how much we enjoy everything. And I seem to be enjoying (almost) everything, damnit! [*cough* more on Miss Julie soon). Premieres and event screenings always have a heightened energy to them and the crowd was notably generous to fellow Canadian and still rising director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, C.R.A.Z.Y.). He introduced the movie's team and Reese, on stage for a split second, waved like a bubbly Southern beauty queen in a short girly half sparkly black dress as they walked off the stage and the film began 45 minutes after its scheduled screening time. Afterwards, Reese & team stood from a spotlit balcony for their standing ovation but no Q&A.
I think that was the right choice. One of Wild's greatest attributes is its confidence in its own introspective arc. It ends so beautifully in a smartly low key cool down at the end of Cheryl's soul searching hike, that the mundanities of some Q & A sessions might have dulled its lingering natural spell. B+
Also at TIFF:
A Little Chaos, The New Girlfriend, The Gate, Cub, The Farewell Party and Behavior
The Theory of Everything and Imitation Game, Foxcatcher and Song of the Sea
The Last Five Years , Wild Tales and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Force Majeure, Life in a Fishbowl and Out of Nature, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness,
Charlie's Country and Mommy