Wild by Cheryl Strayed. (Or a basic example of the roles for women in Hollywood changing for the better! Keep it coming Reese!)
I am a sucker for a book that ends up being translated to the big screen. I will always watch the trailer for the film and then get so interested in the book, that I read after something like this interests me, that I wish I wasn't going to see it being portrayed on the big screen; because that is where it will most likely have cuts and edits to the story and structure and the portrayal of the characters that will completely alter what I thought about everything from my own wild imagination.
But ultimately, and hopefully all filmmakers who know that a good book can translate to the big screen with the right amount of understanding for the original text, will create something that the author intended and that fans of the book can delve into with the right amount of respect for the books intensity and feeling.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed, happens to be just this exact description of a memoir, the second of the books that has been translated to the big screen that is basically an auto-biography of a woman's life. A big example would be in Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, where we see a woman who has absolutely everything (a loving husband, a house, a great job) dissolve everything in her life, and leave it to go find herself.
Whilst this book was a great piece of literature, that is technically non-fiction, there are definitely elements that sounded like it could have been made up, thought by the greatest of cynics. Though both books are written by themselves about themselves on these journeys, the integrity and honesty of both women has astounded me, and is what has made Hollywood think that both would be a sure fire winner to be adapted for the big screen.
Though Eat, Pray, Love wasn't as critically acclaimed as Wild has been throughout the awards season this year, Elizabeth Gilbert's story got the wrong style of treatment, the Hollywood treatment. Which meant some of the story's essence was lost amid the glamour of the films ideals and expectations for seeking oneself whilst basically being about being on holiday.
Whereas Wild got the independent cinema treatment. From being produced by Reese's own production company Pacific Standard, which also produced one of the other great films of 2014, featuring another fierce woman role in Hollywood with Gone Girl, and her companies legacy is to basically hone in on great films that showcase strong female driven material.
The films get made especially when the lead characters are being portrayed by two powerhouse Hollywood actresses, Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert and Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed. The latter's story is more relatable and more captivating for all audiences as it is a story of personal growth and maturity by putting oneself through a challenge like walking the Pacific Crest Trail by herself without any experience of hiking. It is an incredibly individual story, and is told through flashbacks that take place showing Cheryl's relationship with her mother, who is diagnosed and dies rather suddenly from cancer. It is this life event that sets into motion a sequence of events that leads to Cheryl deciding to put all her mistakes and troubles behind her and to move through the tough rut in her life by hiking a thousand miles by herself.
I am yet to witness the book come to life on the big screen and am hoping to do so soon. From all the little snippets of clips they have featured as one montage in the official trailer, it looks eerily and exactly like the book, which I am so happy about, because the feeling from the book can get lost in the film, if not adapted properly.
The director Jean-Marc Vallée has form with creating an intricate and deeply felt story on to the bigger screen, with Dallas Buyers Club as his former Oscar nominated picture at the beginning of 2014 featuring a towerhouse performance by Matthew McConaughey, who experienced a dynamic "McConaissance" with his performance as Ron Woodruff. Reese is experiencing this same shift, after playing in some poorly constructed rom-coms and dramas and is finally taking control of her own life by creating films that give actresses in Hollywood over the age of 40 the chance to play interesting characters with integrity and realism, instead of being the prize at the end of a sparring match with a love interest or the overcoming of something that doesn't change their characters dramatically.
I for one am happy that Reese's dynamic shift into becoming a self-motivated piece of the jigsaw of Hollywood, will bring about some interesting films in the future years.
Tweet me @mysticmeg13 on Twitter.
Have you seen the film yet? What did you think?
But ultimately, and hopefully all filmmakers who know that a good book can translate to the big screen with the right amount of understanding for the original text, will create something that the author intended and that fans of the book can delve into with the right amount of respect for the books intensity and feeling.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed, happens to be just this exact description of a memoir, the second of the books that has been translated to the big screen that is basically an auto-biography of a woman's life. A big example would be in Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, where we see a woman who has absolutely everything (a loving husband, a house, a great job) dissolve everything in her life, and leave it to go find herself.
Whilst this book was a great piece of literature, that is technically non-fiction, there are definitely elements that sounded like it could have been made up, thought by the greatest of cynics. Though both books are written by themselves about themselves on these journeys, the integrity and honesty of both women has astounded me, and is what has made Hollywood think that both would be a sure fire winner to be adapted for the big screen.
Though Eat, Pray, Love wasn't as critically acclaimed as Wild has been throughout the awards season this year, Elizabeth Gilbert's story got the wrong style of treatment, the Hollywood treatment. Which meant some of the story's essence was lost amid the glamour of the films ideals and expectations for seeking oneself whilst basically being about being on holiday.
Whereas Wild got the independent cinema treatment. From being produced by Reese's own production company Pacific Standard, which also produced one of the other great films of 2014, featuring another fierce woman role in Hollywood with Gone Girl, and her companies legacy is to basically hone in on great films that showcase strong female driven material.
The films get made especially when the lead characters are being portrayed by two powerhouse Hollywood actresses, Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert and Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed. The latter's story is more relatable and more captivating for all audiences as it is a story of personal growth and maturity by putting oneself through a challenge like walking the Pacific Crest Trail by herself without any experience of hiking. It is an incredibly individual story, and is told through flashbacks that take place showing Cheryl's relationship with her mother, who is diagnosed and dies rather suddenly from cancer. It is this life event that sets into motion a sequence of events that leads to Cheryl deciding to put all her mistakes and troubles behind her and to move through the tough rut in her life by hiking a thousand miles by herself.
I am yet to witness the book come to life on the big screen and am hoping to do so soon. From all the little snippets of clips they have featured as one montage in the official trailer, it looks eerily and exactly like the book, which I am so happy about, because the feeling from the book can get lost in the film, if not adapted properly.
The director Jean-Marc Vallée has form with creating an intricate and deeply felt story on to the bigger screen, with Dallas Buyers Club as his former Oscar nominated picture at the beginning of 2014 featuring a towerhouse performance by Matthew McConaughey, who experienced a dynamic "McConaissance" with his performance as Ron Woodruff. Reese is experiencing this same shift, after playing in some poorly constructed rom-coms and dramas and is finally taking control of her own life by creating films that give actresses in Hollywood over the age of 40 the chance to play interesting characters with integrity and realism, instead of being the prize at the end of a sparring match with a love interest or the overcoming of something that doesn't change their characters dramatically.
I for one am happy that Reese's dynamic shift into becoming a self-motivated piece of the jigsaw of Hollywood, will bring about some interesting films in the future years.
Tweet me @mysticmeg13 on Twitter.
Have you seen the film yet? What did you think?
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