Wild is adapted off the book of the same name, where Cheryl Strayed embarked on a 1,100 mile trek across the American Wilderness. This is a fascinating story of how someone at their lowest point tried to overcome her troubles and rediscover her purpose in life. First of all, the story is perfect Oscar bait. We all like a story of someone overcoming adversaries in life and making something good for them, because we all try to do that. That’s life. Secondly, Wild seems to be in good hands. The film is directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, who directed Dallas Buyers’ Club, and we all know how well that worked out for a certain someone. Finally, this film looks so beautifully shot. The American Wilderness is a very photogenic place, as shown in Into The Wild, and should satisfy a lot of camera nerds.
But does this film have the legs to give Witherspoon her second Oscar? I don’t know. Where she does seem to be doing a good job in this film, I feel it’s too early to tell whether Wild will be the talk of the awards season. The film just doesn’t seem to have the same level of Oscar buzz that Foxcatcher has. It definitely feels like Fox Searchlight have had a look at Foxcatcher and decided to go “Look! Look! We have an Oscar contender too!” While I believe mainstream audiences will have a look at Foxcatcher, I can’t say the same for Wild. Foxcatcher can rely on the strong fanbases of Tatum and Carell to draw audiences in, where as Wild has to rely on Witherspoon’s fanbase, which isn’t as strong. While I am a bit more excited for this film than I thought I would be, I just have this feeling that it’s going to fall through the cracks. But maybe, kind of like Cheryl Strayed, Wild can climb out of the darkness and into the golden light of an Oscar win.