Girls on Film: How Wild's Reese Witherspoon finally got a film worthy of her talents

The adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir is Witherspoon's juiciest role in 15 years

Wild
(Image credit: (Fox Searchlight))

"If there's one thing I can teach you, it's how to find your best self." -Laura Dern, Wild

In Wild, Reese Witherspoon stars as Cheryl Strayed — a woman who set off on a solo, 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to reshape herself "back to the woman my mother thought I was." Wild is based on a real-life story, but it also feels destined for Witherspoon. For the first time in years, Witherspoon is given the chance to overcome the banal Hollywood box she's been placed into and return to the dynamically complex characters of her youth.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Monika Bartyzel

Monika Bartyzel is a freelance writer and creator of Girls on Film, a weekly look at femme-centric film news and concerns, now appearing at TheWeek.com. Her work has been published on sites including The Atlantic, Movies.com, Moviefone, Collider, and the now-defunct Cinematical, where she was a lead writer and assignment editor.