‘Tracks’ Blows Mia Wasikowska Across the Pacific

Emily Manthei

Ubiquitous indie starlet, Mia Wasikowska, returns to her native land for her first Australian feature film in ten years, portraying the determined solo desert trekker,  27-year-old Robyn Davidson. Tracks tells the true story of this young woman’s walk across 1,700 miles of desert, from Alice Springs to Australia’s west coast, accompanied only by four camels and a trusted dog. Based on Davidson’s memoir and the enduring photos of National Geographic photojournalist Rick Smolan, played by Adam Driver of HBO’s Girls – who met and photographed Davidson at key points during her journey – the John Curran feature film hits U.S. theaters on Sept. 19, after important detours to the Toronto, Telluride and Venice Film Festivals, as well as a European theatrical release earlier this year.

Isolation seems to be the theme of this inspiring journey anti-genre film. However, what anyone really wants to know is simply “why?” The premise recalls 2007’s Into the Wild, a true story about an over-educated misanthrope who disappears from his upper-middle-class life after college and embarks on a journey of solitude into Alaska’s wilderness, which, sadly, eventually is his demise. In Tracks, Early signs – most notably, the survival of the protagonist – point to a freer hopefulness in Davidson’s journey and her willingness to accept help from others. But nothing about the story really explains that unrelenting “why?” – including Davidson’s writing on the subject. Perhaps, it’s the kind of dangling question that demands filmic adaptation and draws the attention of actors familiar with the harsh environs of the Australian desert who need to settle – or even unravel – their soul.

Since her star-making turns in Tim Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland, Wasikowska has refused to make the easy money, typically big Hollywood choices, instead filling out her resume with auteur-led independent features by Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Gus Van Sant (Restless), Chan-wook Park (Stoker) and David Cronenberg (the upcoming Map to the Stars). Director John Curran, lesser-known but well-respected for The Painted Veil and We Don’t Live Here Anymore, helms this epic look at 20-something angst which, in spite of the real-life Davidson’s memoir and various articles about her journey featured in National Geographic, remains mysterious. “I just wanted to be alone,” Davidson vaguely explains. A role with so much ambiguity seems ideal for the thoughtful Wasikowska, who earlier this year told the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper that “I get overwhelmed seeing billboards…movies everywhere. I don’t want to think about movies all of the time”  in response to a question about why she refuses to live in Los Angeles.

But as Tracks hits theaters, ahead of a Guillermo del Toro feature and the Alice in Wonderland sequel, it remains to be seen whether Wasikowska will ever truly be left alone.

Tracks will be released in selected theaters on September 19th.