Last month I was invited by AMC Theater to a free screening of Wild. The film was described as a woman’s 1,100-mile journey to self-discovery, and was based on Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling book. I decided to go because the story seemed unique and meaningful, and those stories are not easy to come by. I invited my friend to come. She is not so excited about meaningful movies and asked mischievously, “Can we see Dumb and dumb instead of? “
“No,” I said, knowing that she was trying to say that I watch boring movies.
Within ten minutes of WildMy friend and I were captured, captured by what the main character, Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) is trying to do by leaving everything behind to hike over a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail on her own. She is cleaning up past wounds from her own reckless behavior, a heroin addiction, a divorce, and the untimely death of her mother. She is healing and ultimately strengthening herself.
The movie had no car chases or rape chases, no one was shot or shot at, no abuse of minors or physical fights. He had humor and real people. The suspense was in worrying about this woman’s journey, because we identify with this journey that most of us want to undertake, though not necessarily through a 1,100-mile walk.
When we left the theater, my friend admitted that she really liked this movie, to which I thought, “Hallelujah.” I’ve finally converted it. I noticed a man standing with a pencil and paper asking for our opinions to send to the studio. People told him that they liked the movie, that it was moving and interesting. I said, “The movie reminds me of foreign movies I used to watch (especially French ones), where the stories were saturated with feelings and meanings.”
At home, I did some research on Wild and found that it was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, a Canadian film director from Quebec. Still, it was made by an American studio and it wasn’t just released in independent theaters.
Years ago, a successful screenwriter told a conference that Hollywood executives told him, “I don’t have a message. People don’t like to think.”
Either these executives were totally wrong or times are changing, thank God.
“I’d rather do a show that 100 people need to see than a show that 1000 people want to see.” Joss Whedon