Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
A gutsy, true-life heroine
ith “Wild,” Reese Witherspoon has pulled off one of the most physically and emotionally demanding roles of her career. And she did it with very little preparation.
It’s not that the actress felt like slacking off. Rather, she wanted to go into the role of a hiking newbie who opts to walk the rugged Pacific Crest Trail as inexperienced as the character herself.
Before lacing up her hiking boots, Witherspoon was tempted to work out but agreed to stay away from the gym. She resisted looking at books and websites detailing the conditions on the trail, which stretches more than 1,100 miles from the Mojave Desert to the Pacific Northwest. She even avoided learning how to pitch a tent or pack a 60 lb. backpack.
“I wasn’t allowed to even look at the props before I packed the bag,” relates the actress. “And we filmed it for hours! We must have hours of footage of me packing that bag, which I can’t even imagine.
“When I build the tent in the movie, and you see me screaming for joy, I’m really, really screaming for joy. I’m, like, “Yes!’ “
Whatever her methods, Witherspoon’s performance is generating plenty of buzz. Industry insiders are predicting that, come January, the actress will be in the running for a second Oscar. (She’s already won for 2005’s “Walk The Line”).
From the moment Witherspoon read Cheryl Strayed’s memoir about hiking the Pacific Coast Trail as a means of dealing with a broken marriage and the sudden death of her mother (Laura Dern), the actress knew she wanted to spearhead a bigscreen adaptation.
Using her own money, Witherspoon snatched up the movie rights to the autobiography and produced the film through her own recently-launched Pacific Standard production company.
“It was just one of the most beautiful books I had ever read,” relates the actress, 38. “It was one of those [books] that talked about big issues: grieving, loss of a parent, death, drug use, sex. You name it; it’s in that book.
“But I think [what really attracted me] is the beautiful way [Strayed] synthesizes human emotion and puts them into words. So many of the ideas in the book, I’ve thought for so much of my life, but I didn’t know how to articulate them.
“I was also struck by how [at the end] she has no man, no job, no parents, no opportunity, and it’s a happy ending. It’s a happy ending!”
Witherspoon, who goes without make-up for most of the movie, has rarely been as raw onscreen as she is in “Wild.” Helmer JeanMarc Vallée, who directed Matthew McConaughey to an Oscar in “Dallas Buyers Club,” is proud of the actress for stepping so far outside her comfort zone.
“Reese is … used to being in the kind of film where we pay meticulous attention to how we look, and the hair and the make-up,” says the filmmaker. “And she chose this project for herself … to try something different, new, something that she’s going to be proud of, and be at the service of.
“Let’s not show off, let’s not put some marks there to pull some focus, and tracks and lights and make-up. Let’s do it the real way. We’re outside on the trail, and you have the sun in your face … Often, on the trail, it’s hard, it’s harsh! And look at how beautiful! How naked! How simple; you feel the humanity.”
Witherspoon, who’s enlivened such films as “Election,” “Pleasantville,” “Legally Blonde,” “Walk The Line” and “Mud,” knew that to do Strayed’s memoir justice, she’d be required to dig deep.
“I had to make the choice to [do] a very raw, gritty, honest film, because Cheryl was brave enough to tell the whole truth,” says the actress.
“[She reveals] the parts of herself that are likable, and the parts of herself where you go, “I don’t even want to know that person, that’s so disgusting.” But she told you the whole truth, so you can understand. I think [Jean-Marc] and I had to make a choice to be just as brave and honest.”
Witherspoon believes that at the heart of the movie is a message about taking responsibility for your own life.
“I love that idea that we all come to this conclusion, at one time or another, that you have to save yourself; no one’s coming to save you,” says the actress. “No one’s going to rescue you on a white horse. We’re responsible for ourselves, and our own happiness.”
In many ways, Witherspoon has undergone a similar realization in her own life. A couple of years ago, she began to feel boxed in by always having to play the likeable her-
oine.
Around the same time she acquired “Wild,” she also picked up the rights to “Gone Girl,” which she discovered before it became a runaway best-seller.
The Witherspoon-produced film, which starred Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, has already grossed more than $300 million.
Witherspoon also popped up as a social worker in October’s Sudanese refugee drama “The Good Lie” and plays a district attorney in Paul Thomas Anderson’s stoner noir “Inherent Vice,” which will open in limited release in December before going wide in January.
“I think it’s great that people are noticing that I’m very engaged with my work,” says the actress, who’s married to agent Jim Toth, with whom she has a son Tennessee, 2.
She’s also the mother of Ava, 15, and Deacon, 11, with her first husband, Ryan Phillippe.
“There was a period of time when I wasn’t as en- gaged, or as artistically turned on or as creative. About three years ago, I was just determined to be more involved, and take more ownership over the choices that I made.
“It’s very important to me that the films that I put into the world are an expression, or an extension, of who I am … There are stories and ideas that I think are important for people to discuss, with their loved ones and their families.”
While “Gone Girl” had yet to become a best-seller when Witherspoon picked up the rights, the actress was instantly intrigued by the central figure of Amy Dunn, as un-stereotypical a female character as any in movies for years.
“I’ve grown a little weary of seeing thin, poorly written female characters on screen,” says Witherspoon. “I’ve read so many [of those roles] and I’ve seen so many great actresses sort of shunted to the side, because the part doesn’t really merit their participation.
“Women are complex. And I think they’re interested in seeing complex characters on screen. And whether you like her or not, Amy Dunn is a conversation starter. “
As for “Inherent Vice,” Witherspoon admits that she had a blast being directed by Anderson and reconnecting with her “Walk the Line” co-star Joaquin Phoenix.
“I had a great experience working with Paul Thomas Anderson. He’s a friend of mine, and he called me and asked if I could just come in for a couple of days. Of course, Joaquin and I saw each other, and it was like two kids seeing each other after ten years, which it’s been [since ‘ Walk Line’]. Ten years.”
After producing both “Gone Girl” and “Wild,” Witherspoon says she feels ready to keep making movies that she’d be the first in line to see.
“Look, you always work,” she says. “Your work is important, and I feel really lucky to be a storyteller. It’s just that when I finally got more engaged as a producer, and took more control over my material, and … [began] creating great leading women characters, then I began to feel so much more inspired.”
the