Tracks (2014)
Starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver
Directed by John Curran
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
And with that quote, Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) begins a 1700-mile trek across the Australian Outback on April 9, 1977, with some camels and a dog by her side. With the exception of occasional visits by National Geographic photographer Rick Smolen (Adam Driver) -- whose magazine is monetarily sponsoring her trek -- Robyn is on her own, struggling to wind her way across the desolate land.
There are definite similarities between Tracks and 2014's Wild starring Reese Witherspoon -- the biggest being that they place their focus on a woman desperate to learn more about herself by spending time alone on a long journey. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about Wild in that I thought the film weighed itself down by being overly intellectual. That's not the case in Tracks at all (which is a good thing), but, unfortunately, I never found myself truly understanding why Robyn was making this trek across Australia. There was never an emotional connection made between myself and Robyn, and in a movie in which the focus is solely on one person, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Mia Wasikowska is able to carry the movie without a problem exuding the strength needed for anyone to be able to complete this mission, but I felt she was underserved by a script that never quite fleshes out the purpose of this trip. Let's be honest -- no one's doing this for kicks. There must've been some deep underlying meaning for this and while the film touches a tiny bit on Robyn's relationship with her father being the impetus of the journey, it doesn't delve nearly deep enough to stir up the needed emotions. The film looks great with its sweeping images of Australia, but it lacks an emotional core at its center.
The RyMickey Rating: C
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