5. Cheryl Strayed - Wild
It's been several years since Reese Witherspoon starred in a movie worth recommending, and a decade since she won her Oscar for playing June Carter Cash. Whether by choice or happenstance, she's been flying under the radar, making cinematic trifles like Four Christmases, How Do You Know, This Means War, and that one about Robert Pattinson and a circus elephant. However, the actress came roaring back to life with this year's heartfelt biopic Wild, where she gives the performance of her career as heroin addict turned hiker Cheryl Strayed. Witherspoon embodies the physical and emotional travails of the grieving daughter/divorcée/druggie who leaves everything behind to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, trudging over a thousand miles from the Mojave Desert up to Canada. As the film jumps through her life and relationships, Strayed devolves and evolves from studious schoolgirl to junkie to determined traveler. The steep character arc and non-linear format of the film gives the audience one hell of a show. Each sequence allows Witherspoon to remarkably play against type, and not many other roles this year have held as much Oscar weight. This is one of the mostly finely tuned performances the actress has ever given.
