Director
Jean-Marc Vallee
Leading Actors/Actresses
Reese Witherspoon
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Gabby Hoffmann
Genre
Adventure, Biography, Drama
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for 2 Academy Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Reese Witherspoon and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Laura Dern
Date of Release
2014
Producer
Bruna Papandrea, Bill Pohlad, Reese Witherspoon
Setting and Context
Pacific Coast Trail - 1995
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Cheryl
Tone and Mood
Dramatic and Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist and Antagonist is Cheryl
Major Conflict
Cheryl has lost her mother and gotten a divorce after her infidelity and finds herself walking 1,000 on the Pacific Coast Trail in order to find herself.
Climax
Cheryl completes her journey after 94 days and four years later remarries and eventually has two children one of them named after her mother.
Foreshadowing
Cheryl pulling off her toenail in the opening scene foreshadows the pain she will have to endure on this journey.
Understatement
It is understated what happens to Cheryl's brother after their mother's death.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
n/a
Allusions
The 1,000 mile hike is an allusion to the necessity to walk through our pain in order to understand it, connect to our true self and live again.
Paradox
Cheryl is lonelier in real life than she is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Parallelism
The opening scene parallels the same scene later in the film when we see Cheryl tape sandals to her feet after removing her toenail.
