Earlier this fall, Reese Witherspoon produced 20th Century Fox’s fantastic mystery/thriller, Gone Girl, which met both critical praise and financial repute. Both that task and the film in general showed the strong capability women possess of undertaking a complex project in the business, something that frankly isn’t stressed enough. Merely two months later, Witherspoon reunites for another collaboration with Fox, this time with their indie distributor Fox Searchlight, with another starring and producing role with Wild, based on the best-selling memoir of the same name.

Opening Dec. 5 in the heat of Oscar season, this human drama revolves around the true story of Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) and her experiences on a three-month, 1000-mile hike through the Pacific Crest Trail in California and Oregon. In the wake of her divorce and the death of her mother, Strayed has become a lost soul and hopes that she will be able to find herself on this treacherous voyage.

Witherspoon carries the film with great confidence, and though her performance isn’t particularly outstanding, it’s more than likely going to be overblown once award nominations come by. Nevertheless, though heavily flawed, she’s a sympathetic protagonist who makes the audience care about both her literal journey and her metaphorical one. Laura Dern is also terrific as Strayed’s mother who appears only in a string of flashbacks that are never overbearing and done exceptionally well.

Surprisingly, the film is also quite funny at times, thanks to a well-rounded script by Nick Hornby. The rough direction from Jean-Marc Valée, who just led Matthew McConnaughey to an Academy Award with Dallas Buyers Club, is also perfect for the film’s tone and theme. However, pacing-wise, the film slows down quite a bit in various areas and Witherspoon doesn’t fully sell some of the more despicable aspects of her character due simply to her own appearance. Still, these factors never harm the film too much.

Ultimately, the film effectively portrays its protagonist and provides her with a considerable character arc, which is essentially its entire goal. It clearly shows her progression as a person and how one doesn’t need to have witnessed an extremely dire life in order to relate to the drive to change oneself when the realization that it’s time to change has come. In the end, Witherspoon rises to the challenge and delivers an extraordinary tale.