Cast: This is Resse Witherspoon's movie and she carries it spectacularly, both in the redemptive present and the shameful flashbacks. Laura Dern's is the next most prominent character and earns it, even only through flashbacks. Given the nature of the movie, no one else sticks around for very long, but a lot of familiar faces pop up. For me, that included Thomas Sadoski (Loser), Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones), Gaby Hoffman (Girls/Transparent), and Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town).
Plot: Cheryl Strayed is a woman who decides to walk the Pacific Crest Trail (like the Appalachian Train, but in the west). It's quickly apparent that she is poorly prepared for this although her determination pulls her through. As the movie progresses, a series of flashbacks show you why she is doing this (tragedy leading to acting out leading to a need to redeem herself). This is a great example of a movie being about the journey, not the destination, because nothing huge happens. She meets people along the way, some nice, some unsavory, but no one for very long. So, I hope you like scenes with hiking. Seriously, they do keep that stuff pretty interesting.
Elephant in the Room: And this is different than Into the Wild how? Well, first off all, Cheryl Stayed isn't deified. Secondly, she isn't an idiot. Thirdly, Reese Witherspoon is much better than Emile Hirsch (in this and in general). Then there's the happier ending. The journey aspect makes them similar, but that's about where it stops.
To Sum Things Up:
If you like Reese Witherspoon, you have no reason to miss this. She's as good or better than in her Academy Award winning performance in Walk the Line. This is the story of one woman's journey and it doesn't try to extrapolate that to some universal truth. She needed to do this because it's what worked for her. From a depiction standpoint, I'd have to check with my friend who walked the A.P. to be sure, but I think this does a good job showing the conditions these hikers deal with. The P.C.T. looks both daunting and feasible which is a tough balance. My biggest takeaway from it all though is that I hope I never fuck up bad enough to need to follow in Cheryl's footsteps.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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