Resse Witherspoon has a history of portraying strong women, but a heroin user, hooking up with random men in random places, emotionally lost and angry…? In Wild her acting stretches beyond anything you may imagine and succeeds in bringing the ups and downs of Cheryl Strayed’s life to the screen.

Cheryl desperately misses her mother who dies of cancer. She was the one person who appeared to keep Cheryl’s life in some sort of balance. As her life starts spinning out of control and she abruptly decides to “walk herself back into the woman her mother thought she was” by embarking on an 1,100 mile trek of the Pacific Crest National Trail. On the trek she literally and figuratively unburdens herself from a lot of the weight she’s been carrying.

In Wild Witherspoon proves again that she is more than just a pretty face. This movie has the potential of being a real bore – two hours of hiking, pitching tents, eating hot and cold mush can get old quickly – instead it is a wild ride. Ms. Strayed’s journey back from the abyss and Ms. Witherspoon’s portrayal of her are both enormous triumphs. LAR

Running time: 2 hours