Wildlike

WildLike unfolds beautifully on screen - an authentic and thoughtful tale of recovery, relationships, healing and hope.

Mackenzie (Ella Purnell) must leave Washington state and go live with her uncle (Brian Geraghty) when her troubled mother enters a treatment and counseling program. Although seemingly conflicted, his lingering, uncomfortable gazes eventually give way to inappropriate behavior, and Mackenzie decides to flee his custody and find her way home. However she quickly realizes that Juneau will be difficult to leave, fully bordered by either mountains or water. A chance encounter with the recently widowed backpacker, Rene Bartlett (Bruce Greenwood), evolves into a method of escape, and Bart finds himself an unwitting partner in Mackenzie's plan to return to Seattle. Set amidst the majestic Alaskan wilderness - a place of boundless beauty, challenges and respite - their journey soon becomes more important than the destination. Free from distractions, Bart and Mackenzie (small against this magnificent landscape), experience the power of redemption and restoration. When Bart realizes the gravity of Mackenzie's situation, his concern for her deepens, and he realizes that her salvation is dependent upon his reaction.

This is a quiet, subtle film. In fact, there are times when the mountains seem to speak loudest. Indecencies against children are far too common, and they frequently happen in a "non-Hollywood" manner; often discreetly and calmly perpetrated by those closest to the victim. Attempts to navigate life and its relationships, after being victimized, are fraught with difficulties, leaving survivors confused and distrustful. Modern movies have become somewhat scarce on pure heroes. Even "good guys" are frequently so flawed that it's difficult to really root for them. The strength and tenacity shown by Purnell's character, along with the true unfettered goodness exuded by Greenwood, are welcome and refreshing.

WildLike masterfully proves that sometimes the Last Frontier is actually the beginning of a new life.

Wildlike follows a teenage girl as she goes to live with her uncle. She soon realizes that circumstances at home with her uncle are unbearable and ultimately she runs away, where she meets an older man about to go hiking.

I love the title. It's a simple word that is rarely used in the English language, and it fits the movie pretty well. It's a small thing that proves that the director gave a bigger crap about this movie than some others might've.

There are some pretty nice scenic shots in this movie. They aren't anything I haven't seen before, but they were pretty at least.

The actors are pretty good. I bought each performance, and the writing accompanying them was pretty good too. It was like each part was written for the actor who played them. They manage to embody these characters really well.

The movie spends a decent amount of time developing certain plot points. I specifically appreciated this at the beginning of the movie when the girl and her uncle first start living together. Their relationship is pretty well developed, although short lived, and there're a couple great scenes involving the uncle alone in his room. We as the audience see the turning point in him when he decides to make living with him unbearable, and we see him struggling with this decision and it's something we just don't see every often in movies. It brings humanity to the bad guy right off the bat, and I really appreciated that.

The two main characters Kenzie and Bart have really good chemistry, and I really enjoyed seeing them on screen together and interacting and all that.

I quite enjoyed the soundtrack as well. There were a handful of good songs throughout, and most of them suited the movie pretty well too.

Unfortunately the story does fall flat on it's face from time to time. When the actual hiking starts it's kind of forced. There's not really a good reason for it to actually happen and serves more as filler, character development, and scenic shots. The last two of those things are good, but like I said, it's pretty forced. You as the audience are able to understand for the most part why it happens, but it's still kind of dumb.

Overall Wildlike is pretty good. There's some great chemistry between the two main characters, some good actors, the main 'antagonist' is great and very human, the soundtrack is good and the scenery is pretty, but the plot is often forced for the sake of story progression. In the end I'd recommend this movie.

Not only does this film (through its actors and director) tackle a difficult subject with sensitivity and a realistic touch, but its portrayal of a trip to Alaska is spot on. Having lived and traveled there for several years I think the film captures the sights, travel and exploring the Great Land in an equally honest and straightforward way.

The actors neither overplay their roles nor sleep through their performances.

Not a Hollywood blockbuster and not filmed with a blockbuster budget. And maybe that's why this film succeeds on several levels.

Well done.

I liked the film- thoughtful, visually engrossing, and deft in the complicated unraveling of the protagonist's story with a sensitivity that conveys a genuine understanding of humanity's harsher realities. Greenwood and Purnell delivered in what I'd have to call the redemption of all things good in humanity in an environment that doesn't nurture such things. Inspiring. Good storytelling here is the reason. Dealing with subject matter as potentially volatile and devastating as this can be without losing sight of the story is a very good summation of Frank Hall Green's skill as a filmmaker. I wouldn't be surprised if WILDLIKE became something of a benchmark film for a number of organizations who provide services and support for victims. This isn't a story of victimization however- it's the story of resilience and how even the simplest of gestures can result in profound hope and recovery. Highly recommend!

We came across this movie on Amazon streaming. The young British actress Ella Purnell is very good in the role of 14-yr-old Mackenzie, her performance carries the movie. Bruce Greenwood is his old reliable self as Bart, the recent widower who is on a presumably solo hiking and camping trip in Denali.

Her mother is having some issues and is unable to properly care for her daughter, so Mackenzie is sent to live for a while with her uncle in Alaska. He gets creepy right away, crawling into her bed at night, so when she gets a chance she grabs her backpack of belongings and heads away, with no particular destination in mind. She just wants to get away.

She encounters Bart entirely by accident, she starts to follow him, he tries to get rid of her but she is persistent. He senses something is very troubling to the girl but she won't talk about it. As a viewer it was a bit frustrating that she wouldn't talk about her situation and why she was in the wilds alone.

This is a quite different take on teenage angst and frankly as the last 15 to 20 minutes concluded I was happy with the way it was scripted. Bart did some things that set the girl up for better prospects and gave the creepy uncle some incentives to never bother her again.

My wife and I enjoyed the viewing.