Into the Wild [2007] - DVD (Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener - Dir: Sean Penn)

A superb cast and an even-handed treatment of a true story buoy Into the Wild, Sean Penn's screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer's bestselling book. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, scion of a prosperous but troubled family who, after graduating from Atlanta's Emory University in the early 1990s, decides to chuck it all in and become a self-styled "aesthetic voyager" in search of "ultimate freedom." He certainly doesn't do it by halves: after donating his substantial savings account to charity and literally torching the rest of his cash, McCandless changes his name (to "Alexander Supertramp"), abandons his family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as his bickering, clueless parents and Jena Malone as his baffled but loving sister, who relates much of the back-story in voice-over), and hits the road, bound for the Alaskan bush and determined not to be found. For the next two years he lives the life of a vagabond, working a few odd jobs, kayaking through the Grand Canyon into Mexico, landing on L.A.'s Skid Row, and turning his back on everyone who tries to befriend him (including Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as two kindly, middle-aged hippies and Hal Holbrook in a deeply affecting performance as an old widower who tries to take "Alex" under his wing). Penn, who directed and wrote the screenplay, alternates these interludes with scenes depicting McCandless' Alaskan idyll--which soon turns out be not so idyllic after all. Settling into an abandoned school bus, he manages to sustain himself for a while, shooting small game (and one very large moose), reading, and recording his existential musings on paper. But when the harsh realities of life in the wilderness set in, our boy finds himself well out of his depth, not just ill-prepared for the rigors of day to day survival but realising the importance of the very thing he wanted to escape--namely, human relationships. It'd be easy to either idealise McCandless as a genuinely free spirit, unencumbered by the societal strictures that tie the rest of us down, or else dismiss him as a hopelessly callow naïf, a fool whose disdain for practical realities ultimately doomed him. Into the Wild does neither, for the most part telling the tale with an admirable lack of cheap sentiment and leaving us to decide for ourselves. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews of Into the Wild [2007]

AGH
UK
8th January 2009

Incredible - Buy Now!!
I bought this film only because of the good reviews. It would not normally be my type of thing. I shall not cover the film in detail as others have already done it better. However the film has stayed with me ever since. It is an incredible film, made all the better if you dont already know the story (which I didn't) and you dont know the ending (which I didn't). Buy this film but dont figure it out first. Let it run its course - you wont regret it!

LittleMoon
China
2nd January 2009

A movie, and soundtrack, that stay with you
I came to this movie on the back of a diary entry by one of my Chinese students - and was as such, happily oblivious to the "hype" that apparently surrounds it. I notice its detractors are as careful in their complete deconstruction of the film, from its actors and soundtrack to its existentialism and moralising, as those who love it are genuinely moved.

As for me, I liked this movie precisely because it shows the flaws and the cracks in a beautiful theory. The Alaskan wilderness proves the fatal downfall of our hero, even as it provides him with the answers. He gives all his money to charity, burns the rest and then has to go and find a job.

Nature is beautiful and terrifying. So is society. You might get killed on the street outside your house, having never lived, and that's the most scary thing of all. McCandless went out there to ask questions of himself and to find out what really matters in this life - he may have lived more in those few years than most people do in a lifetime - and he was foolish, young and pretentious. So what! This is the stuff of life!

I thought the acting was solid and believable, with Hal Holbrook shining as the old man looking to fill the gap in his life by adopting McCandless. Eddie Vedder's soundtrack is perfectly haunting, particularly "Long Nights".

Philosophers, travellers, aspiring vagabonders and anyone who's ever asked themselves who they are, and what they are doing in this life, will like this movie, because it tells the tale of one young guy doing precisely that.

Sabina

30th December 2008

Unique and Deeply Moving Experience
I don't understand how anyone can criticize this movie..
Emile Hirsch is excellent in the lead role and he portrays a convincing Christopher McCandless. The story itself is beautiful.. and I have identified with it and the character deeply and completely.
I have cried several times simply because I was so moved, not necessarily because something sad or bad happened. The movie has also provided me with several tips for books or writers worth reading and I have re-discovered Leo Tolstoy and his late "philosophical" works after watching "Into the Wild".
The music by Eddie Vedder is great, but the first song "Long Nights" became one of my all time favorite songs.

All in all a truly unique and unforgettable experience - highly recommended!

A. Fallan
Essex, England
22nd December 2008

A very moving and beatifully crafted film!
I watched this film because the (true) story upon which it is based appealed to my own love of 'the wild'; to be honest though, I was not particularly expecting it to be anything much to write home about - I could not have been more wrong! This is one of those very special films that you happen upon from time to time, that really makes you sit up and think, "Wow! That was amazing - a real breath of fresh air!" The true story of Chris McCandless - who renounced a life of financial striving and material comfort, venturing into the wilds of Alaska to 'live off of the land' - is fascinating enough in itself. The film is also, in my view at least, extremely well-written, produced, and directed, and it is nice to see a film that is so very different from the type of films that usually dominate the market. Oh, and another thing: the soundtrack is fantastic, and as soul-stirring as some of the scenes in the film!

Mr. J. Holland
Worcester
4th December 2008

Emile your annoying.
As other reviewers have picked up Emile Hirsch is somewhat irriating in the lead role. He brings no sense of conviction, purpose or intelligence to the part, which leaves the film in a bit of a hole. A hole significantly deep enough, that the film's positve elements, cinematography, soundtrack, etc are not able to pull it clear.

There are worse films of course, but this is a long way short of the hype that has been laid upon it.