With its December release date, big return for Reese Witherspoon to dramatic acting and a director, Jean-Marc Vallée, who helped two thesps to Oscars at this year’s ceremony with Dallas Buyers Club, Wild would seem to have 'awards bait' written all over it.
Adapted by Nick Hornby from Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, it stars Witherspoon as Strayed, who reacted to bad circumstances in her life – some of them her own fault – by taking on a serious challenge. Traumatised by the death of her mother and the breakdown of her marriage, and looking to find a way to fight waves of unhappiness, she decided to make the 1100-mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State. Though she had almost no experience in such a big hiking attempt, she found the mission a life-changer.
Wild offers Witherspoon the chance to tackle and vanity-shedding role, and she has support from the likes of Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffman, Thomas Sadoski, W. Earl Brown and Michiel Huisman. The drama will wander into US cinemas on December 5, before hiking over here on January 23.