To a certain generation, Reese Witherspoon may still be best known for her fresh-faced performances in such varied films as Election, Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde. Her onscreen charisma and ability to imbue wide-eyed innocents with both charm and surprising insight initially led Witherspoon to a career largely as a comedic actress, but in the last decade, she’s made a decisive move towards a more diverse filmography, leading to her Oscar win for Walk the Line in 2006. Wild is not only a continuation of that trajectory but, in fact, may be the actress’s crowning achievement.

In the film, Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a young woman determined to hike her way through 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail running along the coastal states of the U.S. On her journey, Cheryl is confronted with a number of personal demons, as she seeks to figure out how she lost her way and how to get her life back on track.

Based on the real-life memoirs of the title character, Wild has all the trappings of a road trip film but without the gas-powered vehicle for the protagonist to hide behind. Cheryl is literally isolated in the middle of the wilderness, and while she encounters a number of people throughout her trip, these interactions add little in the way of plot development or amazing anecdotes to her story.

Rather, Wild is a very personal story of one woman’s desperate attempt to face the biggest crossroads of her life (and in a darker, more honest and sharper way than any Britney Spears movie ever could… cue rimshot). In doing so, director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) places the focus almost exclusively on his star, who responds with a raw, fearless performance that very well may be a career best.

However, while Witherspoon undeniably conquers the screen with every second of screen time, Laura Dern also shines in another astounding matriarchal turn after teenage tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars. Ultimately, it is Dern who truly embodies the thematic richness of Wild, vocalizing its primary message and driving the story forward with her every word. She brings the emotional core of the film to life, and while Witherspoon is already receiving well-deserved recognition in awards circles for her work, Dern’s performance most definitely warrants some attention as well.

Though the film’s narrative does slip into cliché in places, Wild mostly stays true to life and (presumably) the real Strayed’s experiences as well. Vallée brings the same grounded aesthetic to the film as he did in Dallas Buyers Club (another film heavily lauded for its performances, including two acting Oscar wins). The cinematography of the picturesque landscapes Cheryl passes on her trip is well-shot and brilliantly lit, and the film is tightly edited, lending a significant amount of screen time to flashbacks without sacrificing the narrative’s forward momentum.

Many films have tread ground similar to Wild, but few have done it with the same earnestness, truth and cautious optimism. The reflective, deeply introspective nature of the film may not appeal to all audiences, as it is far more concerned with the lead character’s internal struggle than providing a visual spectacle or a rollicking good time. However, those willing to take the journey along the PCT with Cheryl will likely find themselves swept up in her story and perhaps inspired to do a little soul-searching of their own.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Wild stars Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Thomas Sadoski. It is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and is now in theaters.