JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

 Chris Pratt     Bryce Dallas Howard     Isabella Sermon     Laura Dern     Sam Neill

Jeff Goldblum     DeWanda Wise     Mamoudou Athie     Campbell Scott     Omar Sy     BD Wong

            There are plenty of thrills and chills in this production, and if you like chases of one kind or another (cars, motorcycles, dinosaurs), you’ll be especially pleased.  Much of it is over the top with screams, screeches, dark scenes, and rapid-fire camera movements.  In that sense, special effects and action over-ride the story, most of which is about characters trying to get out of horrifying situations.

            Picking up on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), we meet up again with Owen (Pratt) and Claire (Howard) and the “daughter” they have rescued, Maisie (Sermon), settled in their country home with endangered animals living on the property.  Maisie is a teenager and chomping at the bit to get out from under the protection of their home.  But knowing the keen scientific (and commercial) value she carries, Claire and Owen are torn between allowing her to satisfy her longings and keeping her safe from kidnappers.  

            Predictably, a giant corporation, Biosyn, has emerged as a major force in genetics research and commerce, headed up by Lewis Dodgson (Scott), with Ramsey Cole (Athie) and Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) on his staff, and Kayla Watts (Wise) as a contractor for supplying animals Biosyn is eager to acquire, and the only one contributing a bit of humor here and there.  But…hmmm…maybe Biosyn has some nefarious purposes…

            All these characters end up on Biosyn’s property fighting for their lives after one or another major mishap occurs or threatening dinosaur(s) appear.  The filmmakers have done a good job in portraying the horror and terror in these scenes; it’s just that there are too many of them for my taste.

            When Dune had a major sweep of Academy Awards for the crafts this past year, I was pleased because they well deserved the praise.  Will Jurassic World Dominion capture similar acclaim?  I think not, even though the filmmakers have appeared to go all out for technological flash.  The difference is that Dunehas a strong story line with many kinds of nuances and issues to grapple with, and although preserving animal species and partnering with nature is a strong theme here, I doubt it will achieve the same acclaim that Dunereceived.

            It’s likely that most Jurassic fans will lap up the continuation of this franchise, but others less enamored may say, “Enough!”

 

An ongoing story that has difficulty measuring up to its prior versions.

 

Grade:  C                              By Donna R. Copeland

LITTLE WOMEN

Saoirse Ronan     Emma Watson     Florence Pugh     Eliza Scanlon     Laura Dern

Timothee Chalamet     Tracy Letts     Bob Odenkirk     Chris Cooper     James Norton     Meryl Streep

     Greta Gerwig updates this traditional story based on Louisa May Alcott’s book for girls by emphasizing the March girls’ ambitions, particularly those that depart from the standard get-married-have children tale.  Most notable are the lines inspired by Gerwig’s conversation with Meryl Streep, who plays Aunt March in the film, during first conceptualizations of the film.  The lines are spoken by Amy March (Pugh), the youngest sister, complaining about women not having rights—they can’t own anything; if they leave a marriage, even property they had before marriage, even their children, would belong to the husband.

     Much of the film, however, adheres to Alcott’s novels.  Four sisters are being brought up by their mother while their father is serving as a chaplain during the Civil War.  Marmee (Hurd) is a strong female model for them, managing—with the help of the two older daughters Jo (Ronan) and Meg (Watson)—financially, and beyond that, instilling strong values (helping the sick and the poor, with a strong commitment to forgiveness) in her daughters.  

     The family reflects the temper of the times, particularly where women are concerned. What makes the story most interesting are the differences in personality and temperament among the four sisters, and how these play out with family and friends.  Jo departs most from the norm by pursuing independence at almost any cost, Meg by marrying for love over “prospects”, Beth (Scanlon) by her musical ability, and artistic Amy at first by her self-entitlement and later by her practicality. 

     A bonus in this rendition of Little Women comes at the end when Jo is clearly taking charge of her career by cannily negotiating with the editor Mr. Dashwood (Letts) on a cash advancement, copyright, and share of the profits.  (Although she does have to make one major compromise so that the story ending will sell.)

     Yorick Le Saux’s cinematography with its warm, bright palette and vividness of interior and outside scenes contributes majorly to the production, helping to give it soul, along with the pleasant, era-capturing score of Alexandre Desplat. Saoirse Ronan’s performance is exemplary, attaining the promise of her work in Hanna, Brooklyn, and Atonement, and being a major force in capturing our attention.  She is well supported by Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, and Laura Dern as sisters and mother.  As love interest to more than one sister, Timothee Chalamet glitters as an honorable heartthrob not just for the sisters, but for some audience members as well.  It is a treat to see Tracy Letts playing the discerning publisher with a soft heart, following on his bombastic performance as Ford in Ford v Ferrari. Likewise, seeing Chris Cooper as a benevolent, wealthy Mr. Laurence after the revolting father he played in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is refreshing.  Finally, Meryl Streep proves her value once again in playing a rich dowager who is bound to the past.

     Perhaps because I personally was never an impassioned devotee of Little Women, I’m not enthralled with Greta Gerwig’s remake of the classical tale.  Interesting and entertaining as it is, it makes me question remakes in general. That is, this tale has been told on stage, on television, and in film almost continuously since 1933.  This version, although set in the 19^thcentury, is meant to capture the sentiments of today.  And it does, with flair to a great extent.  I just have a problem with telling a story already well told.

19^thCentury women being little women—already a tale well told.

Grade:  B                        By Donna R. Copeland

MARRIAGE STORY

Scarlett Johansson     Adam Driver     Laura Dern     Ray Liotta     Alan Alda

 Azhy Robertson     Julie Hagerty     Merritt Wever

      A heartbreaking story—but not so much that a couple’s paths in life take them in different directions—but that their whole separation becomes contaminated by external factors.  Geographical separation is commonplace in families nowadays, and is one of the factors in couples’ not being easily able to maintain an intimate relationship, especially when husband-wife careers’ pull them in different directions.  Nevertheless, upsets could be worked out amicably between the two parties, but so often third parties intervene in ways that are damaging.

     For example, Nicole (Johansson) and Charlie (Driver) are enjoying their marriage and professional collaboration in New York when she gets an offer for and accepts a starring role in a television pilot in Los Angeles.  That is where she is from and where her family is, and so she has always wanted to return.  Charlie gives lip service to her desires, but his career is taking off in New York, so he figures that she will go “do her thing” for a while, then return with their son Henry (Robertson), who has gone with her.  She kind of thinks this too; however, while she is there she begins to think about her marriage, and comes to feel that Charlie dominates her life too much.

     She then takes a fateful step in engaging canny lawyer, sharpshooter Nora (Dern) who is expert in pulling Nicole into her web, reinforcing her reservations about Charlie and working hard to exploit the case to the fullest extent (of her bill, of course).  This will set the ball rolling so that it will no longer be Nicole and Charlie working out their own solutions, but a legal battle between Fanshaw and Charlie’s attorneys, first Bert Spitz (Alda) and later when the going gets rough, Jay (Liotta).

     Writer-director Noah Baumbach knows very well of what he speaks.  The story is loosely based on his own separation from Jennifer Jason Leigh, his first wife, who apparently approves of this production.  (Baumbach is now with Greta Gerwig, director of Lady Bird and Little Women).  He is to be praised for a valiant attempt to present both sides of the contentious splintering in a fairly objective way. As presented, though, I had more sympathy for Charlie than for Nicole; but that may be partly because Nicole’s position and actions are not as well articulated, such that we don’t feel for her as much as we do for Charlie.  Except in the last court scene, she is not “rained on” by the lawyers as much as Charlie is.

     The two leads, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, are fundamental in telling this story.  They give such seamless, authentic representations of their characters the film looks almost like a documentary.  Laura Dern as a lawyer is brilliant in capturing the persona of someone who knows how to beguile while delivering cutthroat blows.  Alan Alda, but more especially Ray Liotta, as Charlie’s lawyers are very good, but do have lines that match the lethality of Fanshaw.  Julie Hagerty and Merritt Weaver as Scarlett’s mother and sister provide some great hilarity to offset the heavy drama. 

Painful, hard truths and emotional ups and downs in this film will move you deeply, and for those who have gone through a divorce it will bring sharp remembrances.

Grade:  A                                                By Donna R. Copeland

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

Daisy Ridley     Domhnall Gleeson     Adam Driver     Oscar Isaac

Mark Hamill     Carrie Fisher     John Boyega     Kelly Marie Tran      

Benecio Del Toro     Andy Serkis     Laura Dern     Justin Theroux

     Not many films and filmmakers can keep up the momentum that the two space fantasies Star Wars and Star Trek have, and in this eighth sequence of Star Wars, writer/director Rion Johnson proves that this franchise is still good to go.  He does a good job in preserving and renewing beloved themes and images while introducing new ones that point toward the future.  We see two of the original characters, Luke Skywalker (Hamill) and Princess Leia (Fisher); and new interactions between Rey (Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Driver)—both introduced in the last episode, The Force Awakens—set up so that we know they will meet again.

   The Last Jedi opens with an attack on the Jedi resistance forces, which now consist of only 400 fighters on three ships.  The story will shift back and forth between attacks from the Jedi’s arch enemy, the First Order, commanded by General Hux (Gleason) and their own attacks, commanded by General Leia Organa, upon the First Order.  General Hux must answer to the supreme leader, Snoke (Serkis), who initially denigrates him for his failure to stop the destruction of some major artillery.

   Meanwhile, Rey, who finally located Luke Skywalker on the planet Ahch-To in the last picture, revisits him with the message that his presence in the battle is critical for the survival of the Jedi.  He has been coming to the philosophical conclusion that the survival of the Jedi is not that important, so her job will involve many hurdles, meditations, and encounters.  Will she convince him to go? 

   There are additional scenarios and encounters to keep the story intriguing, like the relationship between Finn (Boyega), Rey’s missing co-pilot, and Rose (Tran) a mechanic with impressive knowledge and skills; Poe (Isaac) and whoever is in charge of the Jedi at the time; and the triangle of Snoke (Serkis), General Hux, and Kylo Ren. 

     It’s not all drama; there are many scenes that make the audience laugh out loud, like that with Chewbaca and the bird-like creatures, the Porgs; the trip through the casino planet and recruitment of the code-breaker DJ (Del Toro); and Poe’s hacking into the First Order’s communication system.  

    This episode in the Star Wars saga boasts a huge cast of talented, actors already famous for other roles and for previous Star Wars productions:  Mark Hamill (still packing a punch of the rebel Luke Skywalker; Adam Driver (writhing under the struggle within himself about identifying with the dark side); Domhnall Gleeson [reveling in his shaky command of the First Order, which is threatened by Kylo Ren (Driver) and, ultimately by Snoke himself (Serkis)]; Oscar Isaac, the “trigger-happy” Poe trying to influence the Jedi leadership of General Leia and Vice Admiral Holdo (Dern); Benecio Del Toro emerging in the casino to volunteer his hacking skills as DJ; and, finally, the funny, flirting, techno skilled interactions between Finn (Boyega) and Rose (Tran). 

     The star, Daisy Ridley, has held onto her success in capturing the previous role of Luke Skywalker in the Jedi forces as Rey, a fearless, persistent, cheeky young woman who is relentless in pursuing her goals.  This involves her own personal exploration (who she is, where she came from) as well as perfecting the art of The Force. 

     Star Wars fans are likely to be jubilant over this production that seems to have preserved much of the character of the previous films and ventured into new territory, all while keeping the elements of surprise and humor.

Rion Johnson’s production appears to cover all the bases for fans in its preservation of the beloved, surprising twists and turns, and comedic bursts.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

WILSON

Woody Harrelson     Margo Martindale     Laura Dern     Isabella Amara

     Here’s a movie that has great potential with Director Craig Johnson (Skeleton Twins) and starring Woody Harrelson, a success in many films.  And Wilson does start out being quite funny as a lonely character connecting only with his dog, and becoming irate when his only friends, a couple, tell him of their plan to move out of the city.  (“How could you do this to me?!”)  Indeed, self-centeredness and self-entitlement turn out to be his mantra for the rest of the story, which essentially kills it.

     Obnoxiousness is Wilson’s middle name.  He bothers people on the bus or on the street who obviously are engaged in their own activity or work, insisting they talk to him.  In a virtually empty bus, he takes a seat right next to a man who is clearly working, insulting his response to Wilson’s question about what he does.  He says the most outrageous things to people who have mildly rebuffed him, such as, “You’re a toxic soul-drawing vampire.”

When his father is dying in the hospital, Wilson ignores his critical condition and entreats him (the man is unconscious) to say he loves Wilson.

     One of the only really engaging parts of the film Wilson is the brief period when Margo Martindale is on camera.  She lights up any film she’s in, and here, they have a comical exchange where she is tech savvy (he’s amazed at what she does “at her age”), helping him locate his ex-wife, Pippi (Dern).  She carries on with the task despite his insults of her and Pippi, and locates Pippi’s sister, who will be a lead in finding Pippi.

     Harrelson does his usual good job in capturing a character’s essence and bringing it to fruition.  That it doesn’t quite work here is likely due to the script by Daniel Clowes, which calls for him to be too persistently obnoxious and rude without any redeeming qualities.  After all kinds of disasters, the story then delves into deeper emotional areas, but the viewer hasn’t been prepared, so can’t empathize, and the scenes fall flat. 

     Another place where the film hits/misses at the same time is in Laura Dern’s character Pippi.  Dern is excellent in portraying a woman who has been through major hard times, but still has hope and is trying to make her life better.  Pippi and Wilson have some touching moments together, which are largely successful, but when Pippi, against her better judgment but egged on by Wilson, visits her sister, once again the script calls for an over-the-top scenario. 

     Another strong point in the film is in Isabella Amara’s characterization of Claire, Wilson’s and Pippi’s daughter given up for adoption.  (I’m not giving anything away; it’s in the previews.)  Amara is completely believable and noteworthy in showing the mixture of Claire’s reaction to the sudden appearance of bizarre parents in her conventional, well-to-do suburban world.  Yes, she does show some of their DNA, but nurture by her adoptive parents has helped her achieve good sense.

     Overall, I think about how the movie does something similar to what the Wilson character does; it says a nice thing, followed by a blistering, withering comment.  This is supposed to be funny, but smacks more of cruelty and social ineptitude.

I so wanted this movie to be funnier and snappier.

Grade:  D+                            By Donna R. Copeland

THE FOUNDER

Michael Keaton     Laura Dern     Nick Offerman     John Carroll Lynch     Patrick Wilson     Linda Cardellini

       Such an ironic title, as one finds out by the end of this dramatization of Ray Kroc (Keaton), the known founder of the McDonald hamburger franchise.  This film is noteworthy in telling the story of how that came to be and the people involved, of which most of us were doubtless unaware.

          Kroc starts out as a door-to-door salesman and schemer of investment projects, many of which were groundless for potential.  His weary wife (Dern) has become skeptical of his harebrained schemes, and simply wants to continue their comfortable golfing country club life with friends.  Kroc is currently trying to sell a milkshake maker that is supposed to speed up the process considerably, but we see doors shut in his face over and over.  Then he gets a message that a restaurant in California wants to order 6-8, so drives pell-mell from St. Louis to the one and only McDonald’s Drive-in owned by brothers Dick (Offerman) and Mac (Lynch) McDonald. 

          This is in the 1950s, when all the drive-ins had curb-hops who took your order and brought your food on a tray that attached to your car.  Ray eats most of his meals at drive-ins, and we see him get annoyed when his order gets mixed up in one way or another.  One of the funniest moments in the film is the screenwriter’s (Robert D. Siegel) portrayal of Ray’s first visit to McDonald’s (with golden arches), where he has to get out of his car, wait in line, place his order, and receive it in a paper bag and cup.  Befuddled, he finally realizes that he must eat it in his car or on a park bench.  When he finds the hamburger is delicious, he immediately goes to talk to the owners.  But he has more in mind than simply their order of the milkshake machines; he wants a tour of their business, which they readily do, showing that speed and natural ingredients are secrets to their success.

         Ray immediately asserts himself by offering numerous suggestions for increasing their business, most of which the brothers decline to accept.  After much pressure, though, they finally give in to the idea of franchising McDonald’s.  They had tried this before, but gave it up because quality control could not be maintained.  Ray counters their objections by offering to play that role, and assuring the McDonalds that he would oversee operations at all the franchises.  The McDonald’s produce a contract that stipulates that all changes in the franchises must be approved by them.

            The McDonalds continue to deny almost all of Ray’s suggestions, and in frustration, he begins to ignore them and do with the franchises whatever he pleases.  Of course, this all comes to a head and we hear the end of the plus/minus story. 

         Siegel’s screenplay continues his fine writing skill (The Blind Side, Turbo, The Wrestler) in presenting a script that avoids the potential for being boring (business, sales) by focusing on the personality of the lead and its subtle transformations across time, and the story’s relevance for contemporary times.  Keaton’s realization of Ray’s character is marked by a combination of charisma, self-interest, and willingness to slight the ethics of his behavior.  It’s a little akin to his Birdman role, without the imagination shown in that film, but Keaton’s performance is just as good. 

         Director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) knows just how to bring the screenplay to life and show how the film is a part of American corporate history as well as McDonald’s specifically.  It moves at a good pace, always keeping our interest and fascination with the subject and the characters high.

          Kroc is to be credited with the commercialization of the hamburger business, much to the McDonalds brothers’ dismay.  He converted it into a real estate business (Franchise Realty Corporation) by buying all the properties on which the franchises were located, introduced “unnatural” powdered ingredients for milkshakes, and expanded the business beyond U.S. borders.  I don’t know, but I imagine there are similar stories to tell about many of our U.S. corporations.

“Fortune favors the bold” – Ray Kroc quote.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

CERTAIN WOMEN

Laura Dern   James Le Gros   Jared Harris   Kristen Stewart   Rene Auberjonois   Michelle Williams   Sally Rodier   Lily Gladstone

          Imagine an airport in which everyone is missing their connecting flights; there are some who think they have gotten on one, only to be denied, something that seems like an accidental connection that doesn’t hold.  They’ve invested in hope and are heartbroken by the outcome. This is the picture I get from Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women.  It gives us snippets of the characters’ lives without much explanation about how they got where they are or why they do what they do.  No one is particularly happy or successful, and it looks like their lives are filled only with the routines of existence.  We don’t see much passion in their lukewarm relationships, and the breakdown of one is responded to with a “Meh…” 

          The film is similar in structure and tone to Reichardt’s previous films, Wendy and Lucy and Meek’s Cutoff.  The plot moves slowly with sensory information striking (e.g., beautiful landscapes and the crunching of horse hooves on the snow) but character development less so.  Relationships are weak and restrained.  Many like this leisurely, cool approach, but I get impatient.

          Based on Maile Meloy’s short stories, Certain Women gives vignettes from the lives of three women.  Laura (Dern) is plagued by a client who won’t take no for an answer, and keeps popping up unannounced at her office.  He eventually gets so desperate he takes a hostage and has a standoff with the police.  Even after he is in prison, he is begging her to write him, “just anything.”

       Gina (Williams) is married to Ryan (Le Gros), and they have a moody teenage daughter.  Ryan has just ended an affair, but is not about to leave his wife, because he “doesn’t do very well without her.”  Gina desperately wants a new house with her own specifications, including sandstone, but one wonders whether the marriage will survive such a project.

          The strangest tale is about Beth (Stewart), a lawyer from a lower middle class family who has made good, and has a job.  But for some reason, she agrees to teach a class two nights a week on a subject of which she knows little, and has to drive four hours each way to get to the classroom and back home to show up for work the next day.  Lily (Gladstone), a ranch hand, follows students into her classroom the first night, stays out of curiosity (and perhaps a crush on the teacher), and tries to establish a friendship between them. 

          I think in some ways, this film could be entitled “Looking for [a] Mommie” because the stories have characters who seem desperate and look to a female for attention and nurturance.  The sadness is that each is disappointed—even broken-hearted—by the lack of response from the other.  Certain Women is meant to be by women, about women, and for women, but it gives a distorted view of our lives.  Surely, most women do not have such soulless lives as these characters.  Few of the women I know or have known are as disconsolate and impassive as the three women in this film.

         The performances of Dern, Stewart, Williams and Gladstone are reason enough to see this film; they evoke our sympathy and we wonder how things will turn out for them; unfortunately, we never do find out. 

A film about lonely, lonely women who seem to get no satisfaction.

Grade:  C-                           By Donna R. Copeland

99 HOMES

Andrew Garfield    Michael Shannon     Laura Dern

          99 Homes presents an excellent picture of what came down for thousands of homeowners during the meltdown.  As with most crises, there are always the few standing in line to take advantage of it.  Rick Carver (Shannon) explains it very well at several points; better that others (who are dumb, overextended, not smart about money and opportunity, or simply have bad luck) take the fall.  He is not going to be taken advantage of and keeps a watchful eye and calculating mind read on every situation he encounters.  “Don’t get emotional about real estate”, he advises, “they’re just boxes.” 

             Dennis Nash (Garfield) is one of the unfortunates whose work is in construction in Florida.  He works hard and is totally committed to supporting his mother (Dern) and his son.   He’s an example of someone rather naïve about the world who gets pushed to a desperate point, but has no experience or training in analyzing a situation from an ethical or legal standpoint.  He’s also typical of a male who wants to do better than his father, and doesn’t want to discuss his plans or his business with those he feels responsible for (always a mistake).  When Carver appears with a safety net and fatherly mien (he says “son” when he is giving Nash advice), Dennis is quick to trust and take a “hope for the best” approach, with the golden aura of money clouding his judgment.  What he doesn’t count on is a landslide of guilt that will set in, especially when his mother begins to grasp what his “business” is.

         The Rick Carver character exemplifies someone who is able to use spurious reasoning to justify his actions without much regard for others or ethical/moral considerations.  Just the opposite of Nash, he is entirely self-serving, although he can mouth caring words in tense situations.  To the uninformed, he might sound reasonable, and although a discerning person would see the flaws, most people don’t.

Both Garfield and Shannon do a masterful rendition of their characters.  When they’re together in a scene, some kind of ineffable connection is almost palpable.  When he hires Nash, Carver bluntly says, “When you work for me, you’re mine.”  But there are traits of Nash that Carver misses.  

          Director Ramin Bahrani is a sensitive socially aware filmmaker who, with his co-writers Amir Naderi and Bahareh Azimi, gives us a dynamic, humane picture of what it was like for families undergoing foreclosure of their homes.

           For a person with ethical principles this film will be hard to watch because it shows family after family begging to keep their homes for very good reasons but still being evicted within minutes of the sheriff’s knock on the door.  It’s likely you’ll say, “What would that have been like if it happened to me?!”  It must have been so awful, and it shows us how being a part of that travesty gnawed at Nash.

          The film has another contribution, which is showing how those higher up on the food chain remain unscathed.  Although they are the ones manipulating the whole system, they are not held accountable.  Maybe the filmmakers had a reason for making the ending ambiguous; I’m not sure, and am not sure whether that is a weakness or a strength of the film.

I wish 99 Homes would be shown in money management courses in high school, college, and continuing education courses.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

WILD

Reese Witherspoon     Laura Dern     Thomas Sadoski     Michiel Huisman

Gaby Hoffmann     Kevin Rankin     W. Earl Brown

     A young woman makes a soul-cleansing journey (1100 miles) to make amends and work through a painful grief by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from the southern border of California up to the Oregon-Washington border.  Reese Witherspoon is enchanting in playing the role of Cheryl Strayed, who ventures out with little preparation or training, only a set jaw and little, albeit some, trepidation.  In her favor besides her heroic determination are good looks and a winning personality. 

     Her first challenge is simply loading her gigantic pack and struggling to put it on her back and stand up, which takes several tries.  After she has walked several days, one helpful person helps her go through it and throw out all unnecessary items, and things go better after that.  She has to climb over large rock formations, wade through waist-deep water, and trudge through snow, so lightening it is essential.

     What makes the story so engaging are not only her personal struggles, but the many kinds of people Cheryl meets along the trail, some initially threatening, some clearly threatening, many who are clearly helpful, and even a rosy-cheeked curly-headed cherubic boy who wins her heart by being interested in her and eventually singing her a song.  This occurs toward the end of the trail and precipitates an emotional break-through for her.  Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria) also hooks the viewer in with his artful way of inserting scenes of Cheryl’s past, which informs about who she is, what she has experienced, and why she is on this journey.  It seems to be a bit of a fad for filmmakers to avoid chronology and jump around in time, which to me is not always successful, but Vallee knows just how to do it so that it adds to the viewer’s experience and keeps the drama moving smoothly.  

     The film is based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild:  From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trailway, and Nick Hornby’s screenplay is a finely crafted adaptation of the book to film.  High drama, beautiful scenes of the Trail, and sprinkles of clever humor add up to a very good movie.  Witherspoon’s performance is one of her best, and the addition of Laura Dern as her mother, Thomas Sadoski as her ex-husband, and colorful characters along the trail make for a well-synchronized enactment of the fine script and direction.  Wild is likely to be mentioned more than once during awards season for 2014 films.

Take a hike.  You’ll enjoy it!

Grade:  B+                        By Donna R. Copeland