I was told by several people to check this film out. A couple of years later, I finally had a chance to screen it. Wildlike takes you on an uncomfortable journey, including violence specifically sexual abuse in a world that most would not want to inhabit. Its well written and the execution of the script is flawless. The story does a great job of sucking you in even though you're not sure you want to be sucked in. The cast is superb led by Ella Purnell who plays the lead. Her character is a troubled teen sent to live in Alaska with her uncle. You may not agree with how she lives her life, you might even start out not even liking this character, but it doesn't take long until you are hooked. You want to see her triumph; you want her to be redeemed. Does it happen? No spoilers here folks, you'll have to watch to find out and I think you'll be glad you did. Solid acting throughout, beautifully shot and wonderfully directed. I give Wildlike a solid 8 and a high recommendation.

At no time did I not feel for the female lead in this movie. The actress portrayed the huge struggles in her life with her face and eyes despite the minimal script, or because of it... and all the trauma of being abused, afraid, entrapped, alone and homeless, and then surviving as best she could, with utmost realism. Not once did she err on the side of overacting or melodrama.The male leads were also perfectly cast and did an excellent job.I have no idea what was going on with the countryside in the Alaskan mountains, whereby either the camera was hand-held and the scenery was jumping or it was superimposed... that was weird but only lasted for about 10 minutes of the movie... not in a big way but it was a little amateurish.I would have liked to have learned why the girl's father died... we didn't and so, under the assumption that her mother was an addict who was supposed to be in 'treatment' but who checked herself out and disappeared, did this poor young protagonist have a father who od'd, was dysfunctional etc etc??I got the impression that the situation presenting in this movie regarding the sexual abuse was not new to the girl in the role and that perhaps this 14 year old had just being going the 'easy route' with a long list of abusive mother's boyfriends for years... it certainly wasn't portrayed as if this kind of abuse was new to her, rather that the way she had learned to cope with it was to deal with it as per the movie shows.In my experience, if a young person feels unsupported and that there is no one who cares or to turn to, they develop low key coping mechanisms but begin to show the long term side effects of the abuse as a 'life skill'.All very well done until the worst ending in living history, making me feel I had just sat and watched an intelligent and powerful movie until the director or somebody got bored and yelled 'cut' without any even vaguely, not even close to an intelligent ending.I have no idea what happened. Frankly, the guy should have been taken to the police and so on. No idea what happens in the end. I was left feeling like a pancake... flat and covered in layers of sugar coated junk.

I got a chance to see this film plus participate in a question and answer session. See it if you get a chance. I highly recommend this film. It includes a great cast with beautiful scenes of Alaska. You get just enough detail about the characters to make the story relevant and interesting. It is about a troubled teenager. She is sent to live with her uncle. There are issues so she runs away and sees a whole different way of living. Most of the characters are very likable. The relationships between the teenager and others are really well done. Her history and future are somewhat vague and perhaps it may be useful to see just a little of that.

Wildlike is a most captivating film about a 14 year old girl, Mackenzie, who's father passed away a year before. With her mother, in what we assume is drug rehabilitation, this 14 year old girl is sent to stay with her mother's brother in Juneau, Alaska. After escaping from this man's abuse, she meets up with Bart, an upstanding, very ruddy handsome, older man with whom she feels a real sense of safety. Bart is on a quest to accept a loss of his own and plans to hike the Danali National Park in Alaska alone. This beautiful young lady insists, in a most persistent but adorable way, that she is going to tag along on Bart's hike. Bart, of course, tries his best to dissuade her from joining him. This film will tug at your heartstrings and will keep you focused and entertained throughout. The two main characters, Mackenzie and Bart, are cast perfectly. This is a film that you will not want to miss, a film that should be in all theaters, not just at independent film festivals but so glad that the Durango Film Festival chose it for ours.