We love a good biopic movie here at FemaleFirst and one of the best movies in this genre in 2015 came in the form of the fantastic Wild.
Wild
It was back in 2015 when Wild hit the big screen and it marked the return of Reese Witherspoon as she teamed up with filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée for the first time. This was also the first time we have seen Vallée in the director's chair since the success of Dallas Buyers Club the year before.
The movie follows Cheryl Strayed, who walks 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail to help cope with a recent divorce and the death of her mother. The movie is based on Strayed's 2012 memoir of the journey of self-discovery and healing.
Witherspoon took on the role of Cheryl in the film and gave her best big-screen performance since she won the Best Actress Oscar for Walk the Line - it really was great to see her back on top form. Wild remains one of my favourite films of the year and has made it in at number nine in our Best Movies of 2015 countdown.
Witherspoon is one of the best actresses around and she really delivers an emotional and powerful film that will truly grip you and pull at your heartstrings. In less experienced hands, the character of Cheryl could come over as rather unpleasant but Witherspoon captures the pain that this woman is feeling and just how lost she is.
Witherspoon really got under the skin of this character and you really felt the pain she was in after the team of her mother. Wild really is a movie that explores the impact of grief and how it manifests in different ways in different people. For Strayed, it was destruction that saw her get into drugs and lose her marriage along the way.
Wild is an honest, engaging, and emotional movie and yet, it never becomes melodramatic or over the top. This is a film about despair which, slowly and after time to reflect and accept what has happened, turns to hope.
I love that Vallée has told this story in such a simple way; Cheryl is the main focus and you see her go on this incredibly emotional journey as she makes this incredible journey. This is not a movie that is packed with gimmicks of clichés - the only thing that helps Witherspoon's performance along is the stunning backdrop.
Vallée has captured the landscape so wonderfully as he highlights the beauty as well as the harshness and desolation of the world that she is travelling though - at some points, the backdrop mirrors how Cheryl is feeling in that moment.
Wild is a wonderfully personal movie and sees Witherspoon at her stripped back and emotional best. While we see the vulnerable side of Cheryl we also see her strength as she battles to survive and come out the other side as the woman that her mother would want her to be.
Wild was a huge critical success when it was released back in January and is saw Witherspoon pick up a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work; she lost out to Julianne Moor for her performance in Still Alice.
Take a look at our Best Movies of 2015 countdown so far:
Tagged in Reese Witherspoon Jean-Marc Vallee