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October 10, 2022,
These are circumstances you hope you never find yourself in, but sometimes you do.
No, let’s change it to, might.
Okay, rarely.
You are the target of a violent crime.
The victim of a scam.
And, one of the worst, you are out in the wilderness being stalked.
Well, the last one only seems to happen in the movies. We’ve never known one person in our circle that went camping, rock climbing or the like and was stalked.
Never.
Still, it does make for excitement at the movies.
There are some films along those lines we thought you might enjoy.
What really stands out to us, in her quest for survival, is the determination of the heroine.
Ready to go to the movies?
Wild is a 2014 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Reese Witherspoon.
The screenplay was adapted by Nick Hornby from Cheryl Strayed‘s 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which is about a solo backpacking trip Strayed undertook on the trail in 1995 after numerous personal issues had left her life in shambles.
The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit, grossing $52.5 million against its $15 million budget. Ms. Witherspoon and Laura Dern received nominations at the 87th Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
Here is the storyline.
In June of 1995, despite a lack of hiking experience, Cheryl Strayed leaves Minneapolis to hike, by herself, 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.
During the journey, she reflects on her childhood and memories of her mother, Bobbi, whose death from cancer sent Cheryl into a deep depression that she tried to numb with heroin and anonymous sex.
After her behavior destroyed her marriage and then led to an unwanted pregnancy, Cheryl had an abortion and resolved to hike the trail to try to rediscover the woman her mother raised her to be.
What we liked about the film was the many obstacles that she had to overcome, as you might imagine, but ultimate she finally made a good decision to take this risk and it did change her life.
Well worth watching.
Here is another.
Backcountry is a 2014 Canadian nature–survival horror film, written and directed by Adam MacDonald. It is loosely based on the true story of a man-eating bear and 30-year-olds Mark Jordan and Jacqueline Perry, in the back country of Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, North of Chapleau, Ontario in 2005, events for which Mark later received the Star of Courage award from Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
As far as the loosely based upon the true story part, loosely is the operative word.
In the movie version Mark’s character is arrogant, foolish and employment challenged.
Alex (Jeff Roop) and Jenn (Missy Peregrym) are shown driving from the city towards the country in their SUV. Jenn is seen constantly on her BlackBerry phone, which Alex doesn’t like.
They arrive at the visitor center and are greeted by the park ranger (Nicholas Campbell), who warns them about trail closures and late season remoteness. Alex refuses to take a map and excuses himself, confident that he knows the park well because he has visited multiple times.
His excursions there were a long time ago. Make that a lifetime ago.
Before heading out in a canoe, Alex takes Jenn’s cell phone and puts it in the car without her knowing because he’s sure she’ll be on it the whole time.
As they hike, he spots a bear paw print, but does not tell Jenn.
He plans to lead her to a lake which he claims is deep inside the park.
It seems to take them forever to get there.
They believe they have finally reached it, and climb to the top of the peak. However, when they reach the summit, they see no lake, only miles of forest. At this point it becomes clear that they are lost, with no map and no cell phone.
Drum roll please.
Jenn is infuriated and yells at Alex, calling him a loser amongst other things and demanding to know why he insisted on leading her so deep into the woods.
They eventually are accosted by one of the largest black bears you have ever seen and he eats Alex alive.
Jenn barely escapes with her life.
Applause all-around for Missy Peregrym.
The realness of the experience was incredible. You truly feel like you were out in the woods, the intensity of the carnivorous bear and the fear and pain of the hikers.
Missy is powerful in how she makes you feel every bit of her emotions and frustration with a boyfriend who places her life in danger and doesn’t demonstrate enough respect towards her to keep her informed.
One more.
Alone is a 2020 American thriller film directed by John Hyams, from a screenplay by Mattias Olsson. The film stars Jules Willcox as a young woman who desperately tries to escape a homicidal stalker (Marc Menchaca) in the wilderness.
Here is the storyline.
Jessica (Jules Willcox), a recent widow, is moving. During her drive, she keeps encountering a mysterious man (Marc Menchaca) in several places, like, on the highway, at a gas station, a motel, a rest stop, then ultimately when she crashes her car, due to her tire being slashed.
He drugs her, then takes her to his cabin where he locks her in the basement.
Jessica wakes up and pleads with the man for her release.
He smiles and states to her that she is not the first one he’s taken and then he forces her to tell him what happened to her husband.
She reveals that her husband committed suicide using a gun.
The next morning, she hears the man leaving and notices that the key is still in the keyhole on the other side.
Very convenient.
She slides her sweater underneath the door and uses a stray nail to push the key out. She frees herself and hides in an upstairs closet when the man comes back.
Now for the surprise.
She overhears him speaking to his wife and daughter on the phone, lying about where he is and that he’ll be back soon. Once he goes downstairs, she flees outside.
What we loved about the film was the heroine’s determination, creativity and ultimately her forcefulness to exact revenge.
If there was anyone in the world who painfully deserved that, it was him.
There you have it.
If you desire to be inspired by women of determination in tough circumstances, these three gems should do the trick.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_(2014_film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backcountry_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(2020_thriller_film)
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