But despite its unclear message, there is a certain charm to Wild that smooths away its thorny exterior to reveal a broken character...

| Original Score: C+ | Sep 1, 2017

For all of the trouble 'Wild' takes to get into Strayed's head, you'd think they might've drafted filmmakers with a little bit more experience living in a place like that.

| Jun 7, 2016

It captures an emotional memoir without making it feel like a didactic tale of triumph over adversity.

| Oct 14, 2015

What I like most about Wild is its nuance, its sense of uncertainty and its willingness to leave unanswerable questions unanswered.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 23, 2015

While the external scenery is spectacular, it's the internal landscapes that capture and hold our attention.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 18, 2015

A film about someone going on a very long walk doesn't sound especially dramatic but Nick Hornby's screenplay (adapted from Strayed's book) brings out Cheryl's yearning as well as the epic quality of her mini-Odyssey.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 16, 2015

It is certainly Witherspoon's best performance since Line... But her performance can't deliver the emotional punch the film requires

| Jan 16, 2015

It's not Witherspoon's personal masterpiece: that is still her high-school careerist in Election (1999). But it's still good.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 15, 2015

A quietly moving coming of age story that resists formula or easy redemption, driven by a strong, unvarnished performance from Witherspoon, who deserves huge credit as both star and producer.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 15, 2015

Obvious Oscar-bait is just that. Way too obvious.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 15, 2015

An engrossing, moving and/or well-structured movie, made in a manner that evokes every ounce of sympathy for its heroine in her passion and her thirst for absolution.

| Jan 5, 2015

There's neither cinematic majesty to the vistas (and I saw the movie on a very big screen and sat very close to it) nor intimacy to the ground that Strayed treads.

| Jan 5, 2015

If nothing else, Wild offers a first-rate advertisement for the purifying abilities of the great outdoors.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 5, 2015

Strayed is clear-eyed about her responsibility for her life's unraveling and realistic about what the trail can do. As Witherspoon plays her, she is foul-mouthed and tender, broken and strong.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 5, 2015

Wild doesn't aim for high inspiration or fussy performances, and it benefits from staying honest and rich, instead of going for big speeches and bigger set pieces.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 5, 2015

Witherspoon finds both a mature centeredness and a zen-like openness -- it's been a long time since we've seen her this fluidly expressive, this connected to good material.

| Jan 5, 2015

Witherspoon et al have done justice to Strayed's story.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 5, 2015

Such a monologue of a film depends entirely on the one main actor being pretty much irresistible, however trying her character's frailties. Reese Witherspoon is great in the part.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 5, 2015

Not since June Carter Cash in Walk the Line has Witherspoon been so present to a character. Her Cheryl is funny and messy, wounded but not without survival instincts.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 12, 2014

Strayed comes across as a real person, Witherspoon is a real actor, and the film is a real showcase. But I couldn't help wishing for more to change than the scenery.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 12, 2014