When we meet Edee (Robin Wright) she wants nothing more than to be left alone, completely in isolation in a cabin in the forest, out in the middle of nowhere. It is clear from these events, as well as flashbacks seen of her struggling with depression where her sister (Kim Dickens) is greatly concerned that she will end up hurting herself.
So she decides to live her life out in the wilderness, hoping to find a peaceful bit of isolation. The man who leads her to the cabin warns her it’s not advisable to stay without a car but she is not one bit bothered. So you get the sense that whatever pain she is enduring has become too much to bear and she is looking to kill herself, just not technically by her own hands with straight suicide.
She nearly gets her wish as she is not able to do much to properly fend for herself out there in terms of lighting a fire, fishing, or generally keeping herself safe during the hellish winter that awaits her. If it’s not the cold, it’s the threat of wild animals that are constantly reminding her of their presence just outside of her pretty thin walls.
Just when it seems that she is finally going to be put out of her misery she is discovered by a good-hearted hunter named Miguel (Demián Bichir) and a nurse named Alawa (Sarah Dawn Pledge) who save her life, although even they realize it doesn’t seem to be what she wants. But as she is brought back to health she and Miguel form a (platonic) bond that seems to be the morale boost that Edee didn’t know was even possible anymore.
This is the directorial debut from Wright, based on a screenplay written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam. Wright’s film finds a balance between a showcase of grief while also channeling wilderness survival films that will remind of recent-day efforts such as Wild.
It’s not a particularly showy film from Wright, who relies more so on emotion and a slow burn effort to showcase one woman’s road to recovery. Her performance pairs well with Demián Bichir, who does so much with every scene that he is, lifting the audience’s spirit up at the same time as Edee’s.
Running at the lovely runtime of 90-minutes, Wright doesn’t overstay her welcome, making her point efficiently, helping to overcome some of the more routine and predictable aspects of the film. She doesn’t quite find a totally unique voice or presence behind the screen, but she does the job as intended and delivers a first feature that hits all the emotional marks that do enough to give us a bit of well-needed inspiration and hope during a pretty dark time.
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