Review of Into the Wild (2007) by Gilbertkz . — 20 Nov 2013

Sean Penn knew he had something when he developed the script of Into the Wild for around 10 years. He knew he had found a character every audience member will never forget, will never stop believing, and even when the character does incredibly selfish and ignorant things, we will still wind up cheering him and being moved by him.

Penn knew what he had, and thankfully, he was finally able to show us it. Into the Wild is as much an experience to behold as it is an actual film. You become absorbed, enveloped, and intrigued, even when a pervading sense of doom and gloom begins to surround the movie.

It hits a note that I adore in films but rarely get to find - uplifting while still being sad and true to human nature. The character of Christopher McCandless, wonderfully and bravely portrayed by Emile Hirsch, is one that I think everyone wishes they could be.

Yes (spoiler warning), he suffered a pretty terrible end. But the life he experienced before that was so wonderful, so invigorating, so life affirming, that it was worth it for him and I'm sure it would be worth it for just about anyone.

We've all had moments where we wished we could just leave everything behind, give away all our material possessions, and go on a spectacular cross country journey. We all dream it, but are too scared (or smart), to try it.

Christoper McCandless (or Alexander Supertramp, the name he gives himself during his quest to Alaska) actually had the balls to do it, and even though he was underprepared for the destination, the journey itself was worth it all.

He was a free spirit surrounded in a world of broken spirits, and for Penn to capture it so perfectly on film, I applaud him. But this review is quickly becoming pretentious, and I don't want to scare any potential viewers away.

It's a glorious film, exciting and moving and haunting and uplifting and even tragic. Yes, it has it's flaws. Some moments go by so quickly and so choppily you wonder if there was a missing reel.

One of my favourite shots in the trailer (Supertramp laughing as his car is almost drowned in a flash flood), is no longer in the film. And the resolution of certain characters and certain situations may seem a little unsatisfactory to some.

Minor quibbles. This is a first rate flick, with stellar acting from top to bottom, a great soundtrack with songs performed by Eddie Veder, beautiful cinematography, and Penn directs and writes the film very well.

It's 2.5 hours, but it never once felt slow or redundant to me. The underlying story, the idea of being able to leave it all behind and journey to find yourself and accomplish your dreams, is so appealing that I would've travelled with this character to the ends of the earth, and in a way, we do.

But, as he discovers a little too late, the destination doesn't matter when no one is around to share it with. The people he meets on his journey are all quirky, but all lovely. Vince Vaughn is pleasantly toned down, Catherine Keener is wonderful as always, and Hal Holbrook steals the show and gives what is probably the best supporting performance I've seen since Jack Nicholson in The Departed (odd comparison considering the tone of each are polar opposite of each other, but whatever).

In fact, the scenes late in the film he shares with Hirsch, where he becomes a surrogate grandfather and says the best line in the film ("When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines on you.

"), are the best of the movie. His performance and the scenes they share ring so true, are so moving and beautiful, that they made this flick go from 4 stars to 4.5 stars alone. If there is one major complaint I have with the film, it's the intruding voice overs of Chris' sister, who tries to provide insight and enlighten us on why Chris is taking this journey - abuse from his parents, abuse between parents, lying parents, etc.

All they wind up doing is trivializing his pain and the purpose of his journey. When the voice over's come on, yes they are poetic and lyrical, but they also make Chris seem like a whiny, self indulgent little brat who fell apart when the God's pissed on him.

They make his journey seem nothing more than an emo trip to avoid crappy parents, which make us wanna say "Boo hoo, suck it up". Whatever. Luckily, the voice over's aren't too prevailant, and the film carries on quite well with the images and what we see of Chris' character.

The end is tragic, yes, because Chris realizes what we had a feeling towards - by shunning everyone in his life, he shunned life itself, and now it's gone. We may wonder what purpose his journey had if only to fulfill his own dreams, but here's what I think - this movie itself fulfills his quest, and gives it purpose.

It touches us in a way Chris would've been proud of, and when he comes to his final realization, we're allowed to share it with him due to the movie. This is a splendid flick, and you should all go hunt it down before it disappears from theatres completely.