Into the Wild (B+ or 3/4 stars)
After viewing 'Into the Wild', an adventurous biodrama directed by Sean Penn, I can't help but to reflect upon 2005's documentary, Grizzly Man, which also deals with a man, his quest in the wilderness, & his ironic fate. Back to this film: After graduating from Emory University, potential Ivy Leaguer, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) leaves home & hitchhikes to Alaska to habitate in the wilderness. During his cross-country trek of self-discovery, he meets a plethora of colorful characters; all of whom will shape his life. It takes a while to get going, but Penn's intuitive direction allows this film to flourish & get better as it goes. There's tragedy, poignancy, & some spellbinding moments (though they come intermittently). Still, the end result offers something oddly captivating.
This film is narrated by Chris' beloved sister, Carene (Jena Malone). Because he loathes his upper-middle class existence, & his parents (Marcia Gay Harden & William Hurt), Chris leaves them for the North American outdoors & aims to achieve solitude away from 'society'. Chris is highly disillusioned about life. His perspective is narrow. So although he graduated college with flying colors, he wants nothing of a privileged, materialistic lifestyle (a lifestyle his parents attain). And without further ado, he abandons his possessions, donates his $$ to charity, torches his ID, & heads off (he doesn't know if he'll ever want to come back). After cheekily changing his name to 'Alexander Supertramp', thus begins his journey, and an amazingly unforgettable experience.
Along the way, he meets some hippies (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker). She has lost contact with her son, & wills Chris to return to his parents. He learns from them, and vice-versa. There's a funny encounter btwn. Chris & a pair of Danish kayakers. In South Dakota, he works for a loud, proud, law-breaking grain harvester (Vince Vaughn). By way of train, boat, car & foot, he makes it to Alaska, lives out of a non-functional bus, & fends for himself (learning how to kill & cook his meals). He sets-off for a while & re-encounters the hippies; this time, he even has a brief romance with a teen folk singer (Kristen Stewart). His last encounter is with a lonely, elderly man (Hal Holbrook) who has lost a zest for life. They learn a thing or 2 from each other; and a grandfatherly love is born.
I imagine that this film is mostly accurate (as it is told through 1st-hand writing fragments from Chris' journals). Using keen knowledge & (somewhat) provisional survival skills, it's stunning to watch how Chris adapts to the merciless environment. Sean Penn does a fantastic job at showing us this story through the lens of Chris' eye. His photo-imagery & edits are imaginatively used to creative an optimal effect. Penn also does well to show just how beautiful America (and its people) is. Emile Hirsch does a stellar job at conveying how 1 person can be so in touch with himself and/in the wild. Catherine Keener is great as the female hippy. But Hal Holbrook is truly exceptional as the old man who wishes to 'adopt' Chris upon his last return trip from Alaska ... try to hold back the tears, folks.
I often found it hard to relate, understand, or even care what Chris was running from (he's kinda irritating). However, we GET what he's running to. It's a brave journey, but an ultimately foolish one, as well. Here's something I found interesting: while I don't particularly 'like' Chris, being with his newfound friends made me like THEM more, simply because Chris' presence was changing them for the better. Consiquently, Chris is then able to realize that the world & its inhabitants are not all that bad; I found that to be quite profound, personally. 'Into the Wild' is a sincere film. Simply, it's out to show how important 'truth', & 'beauty' was to this mentally imbalanced young man. He's not a hero. He pays for his mistakes (which is a shame). But Chris' story is a unique one to be heard.
This film is narrated by Chris' beloved sister, Carene (Jena Malone). Because he loathes his upper-middle class existence, & his parents (Marcia Gay Harden & William Hurt), Chris leaves them for the North American outdoors & aims to achieve solitude away from 'society'. Chris is highly disillusioned about life. His perspective is narrow. So although he graduated college with flying colors, he wants nothing of a privileged, materialistic lifestyle (a lifestyle his parents attain). And without further ado, he abandons his possessions, donates his $$ to charity, torches his ID, & heads off (he doesn't know if he'll ever want to come back). After cheekily changing his name to 'Alexander Supertramp', thus begins his journey, and an amazingly unforgettable experience.
Along the way, he meets some hippies (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker). She has lost contact with her son, & wills Chris to return to his parents. He learns from them, and vice-versa. There's a funny encounter btwn. Chris & a pair of Danish kayakers. In South Dakota, he works for a loud, proud, law-breaking grain harvester (Vince Vaughn). By way of train, boat, car & foot, he makes it to Alaska, lives out of a non-functional bus, & fends for himself (learning how to kill & cook his meals). He sets-off for a while & re-encounters the hippies; this time, he even has a brief romance with a teen folk singer (Kristen Stewart). His last encounter is with a lonely, elderly man (Hal Holbrook) who has lost a zest for life. They learn a thing or 2 from each other; and a grandfatherly love is born.
I imagine that this film is mostly accurate (as it is told through 1st-hand writing fragments from Chris' journals). Using keen knowledge & (somewhat) provisional survival skills, it's stunning to watch how Chris adapts to the merciless environment. Sean Penn does a fantastic job at showing us this story through the lens of Chris' eye. His photo-imagery & edits are imaginatively used to creative an optimal effect. Penn also does well to show just how beautiful America (and its people) is. Emile Hirsch does a stellar job at conveying how 1 person can be so in touch with himself and/in the wild. Catherine Keener is great as the female hippy. But Hal Holbrook is truly exceptional as the old man who wishes to 'adopt' Chris upon his last return trip from Alaska ... try to hold back the tears, folks.
I often found it hard to relate, understand, or even care what Chris was running from (he's kinda irritating). However, we GET what he's running to. It's a brave journey, but an ultimately foolish one, as well. Here's something I found interesting: while I don't particularly 'like' Chris, being with his newfound friends made me like THEM more, simply because Chris' presence was changing them for the better. Consiquently, Chris is then able to realize that the world & its inhabitants are not all that bad; I found that to be quite profound, personally. 'Into the Wild' is a sincere film. Simply, it's out to show how important 'truth', & 'beauty' was to this mentally imbalanced young man. He's not a hero. He pays for his mistakes (which is a shame). But Chris' story is a unique one to be heard.