The Expression Hub

Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Laura Dern,Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffman, Kevin Rankin

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée

Genre:Biographical/Drama

“When I do something, it is all about self-discovery. I want to learn and discover my own limits.”

Larry Ellison

Well, the month of February has already begun which means love is supposed to be in air. While couples can feel lovey-dovey but why should they only have fun this month? For the unaware, this month also has a day dedicated to only singles which is known as the Singles Awareness Day. This day serves as a reminder to the society that why singles consider it best to be living a life of single hood as best. Now, for each, this view might differ but the point I am trying to make is that it is okay if you are a single. You need not keep shedding tears or feel bad about your love life. Instead use your power of single hood to become the best version of yourselves . Also, you can utilize this superpower to pride yourself of the fact that you are fiercely independent in a lot of aspects of life. Keeping this thought in my mind, I decided to dedicate this month to celebrating self love. After all, if you do not love yourselves the way you should, how would you go on to love others ?

   So, this month’s first pick revolves around a story of eventual self-discovery and the impact it has on the protagonist of the story. Does this sound interesting ? Read on to find out more…

Story line: Wild is a story which revolves around the life of Cheryl Strayed who despite having no experience in hiking sets out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This is a scenic trail of 4270 km which passes through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. It passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks. The specialty of this trail is that the trail avoids civilization and covers scenic and pristine mountainous terrain with few roads.

   Cheryl Strayed has a purpose behind undertaking such a daunting journey. The reason is she is in a state of state of depression due to the loss of her mother . This situation makes her undertake irrational behavior like consuming drugs and having anonymous sex with people.This behavior leads to an unwanted pregnancy and her marriage being broken down. These events of her life makes her resolve to hike the trail to rediscover herself to be the woman her mother had raised her to be.

   The experiences which she has as she begins her journey leads to her meeting new people as well as having deep insights along with new experiences. Who does she encounter and what all insights she has as she traverses along the path? Also, does the journey fulfill the purpose which she had in her mind?

Scrutiny: This is a piece of work which tries to delve into the mind of a woman who has been mentally unstable due to the death of her loved one. It tries to explore the behavior a person can have due to such events. Some people grieve the loss of their loved ones by mourning , while some try to remember the good times they had with their loved ones. Or some just try to escape the harsh realities of life by undertaking irrational behavior which can be life-threatening . The protagonist in the story tries to numb her pain by trying to escape the harsh realities by undertaking behavior which doesn’t make sense at all . But after bearing the consequences of her irrational behavior, she finally decides to approach her fears and pain in a rational manner by undertaking a hike.

     The hike acts like a medicine which is bitter in taste but is essential for maintaining good health. It starts giving insights to the protagonist which not only starts giving her a purpose slowly but also helps her deal with the traumas she has faced while growing up. This is supposed to be one of the most important takeaways of the story that no matter however dark the tunnel of life seems, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Reese Witherspoon does a good job to portray as the main protagonist of the story though she could have done a better job to make it look more realistic. Another good point which I really appreciated was the protagonist does seem to open to suggestions as well as acts in a practical manner while making her way through the tough journey.

I seemed put off by the huge number of expletives used in the movie which seemed unnecessary and pretty annoying. The reason being one can put their point across the table without swearing too much at all as well.That was the biggest peeve anyone can feel about this movie.

The Sentiment: What was supposed to be a watch which was eagerly awaited by me turned out to be a watch which had a lot of scope to be turned into a much better piece. Though the movie is supposed to be an eye-opener in a lot of aspects but believe me it was a kind of a disappointment. It kinda felt like a waste of time. So, if you do want to watch this piece, watch it only for the determination of Cheryl Strayed as well as for the important message it gives of being resilient and hope. Else there are much better stories which celebrate the spirit of human beings.

Rating: ** stars

Quote-Unquote: “Cheryl, if there’s one thing I can teach you, its how to find your best life. And when you do how to, hold onto it for dear life.” (Cheryl’s mother to Cheryl)

Que:Cheryl , on her journey meets a young boy who sings a song for her. What is the name of the song?

a. Songs of Life

b. Take me Home, country Roads

c. Lean on me

d. Red River Valley