Review of Into the Wild (2007) by Elizabeth N — 07 Oct 2018

Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Into the Wild will tear viewership into two camps, admirers and skeptics. After viewing this flick, which is based off a true story, I am a bit surprised having found myself in the latter group. I wanted to be a believer! I wanted to be an admirer! But, what I saw instead was someone who had a shaky childhood. I learned about someone who had to force themselves to play a part of American boy under artifice family values and wanted to see beautiful things instead. Who wouldn't admire this guy? As the movie progresses, however, McCandless/Supertramp has the gift of meeting all of these beautiful people who let them into their lives but time and time again he walks away from it in pursuit of something more beautiful. McCandless/Supertramp ends up writing in one of his many books he's reading, "happiness only real when shared". I certainly won't spoil the film's ending but I will report that at 2 hours and 28 minutes, contradictory intentions, actions, and results mix make for a mixed feelings review.

Not sure if this is worth the couch time.