'Wild' Movie Review, Cast News: Sees Oscar Winner Reese Witherspoon Return To Form

"Wild" is being touted as the film that will remake Reese Witherspoon's career which has been languishing lately.

In the film based on the Cheryl Strayed's 1,100-mile journey on foot along the Pacific Crest trail, Reese reminds us of the dramatic chops that were evident in her Oscar winning role in "Walk the Line."

Reviewers were quick to point out that this is Reese's best performance since "Walk the Line." The Chicago Sun-Times said "Wild" joins "127 Hours" and "All Is Lost" on the top rung of individualist-survival movies.

Another review from the New Yorker noted that the movie benefits from Nick Hornby's strong adaption of Strayed's book "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail."

However, the film does not include any "sanctimony or piety" and has "small details woven through large emotions" which helps Reese shine as she plays the part of an "intelligent, but screwed-up woman."

However, in a note of criticism, the New Yorker says "Wild" does not appear to be sublime but one that is "busy" as it tries to always communicate something to the audience.

Entertainment Weekly, in its review, says the film is literally a "journey into the unknown" both in terms of walking an unfamiliar trail without any preparation and exploring the human psyche. The review also notes how "Wild" is ample evidence that Reese's career is on the road towards rejuvenation and that the film on the whole adheres completely to Strayed's story in the book.

This close adherence to the book's story does not reduce the impact of the film but rather heightens it, as Director Jean-Marc Vallée, who previously directed "Dallas Buyers Club," manages to bring all the important parts of the book to the screen in a "graceful and gutting" combination.

Last Friday, "Wild" was released in 21 theaters in the United States. The film has since then gone on to earn $677,238 in the box office.