Review of Into the Wild (2007) by Mark D — 02 Mar 2014

This is a tough one. After watching this, I was curious, so I googled Christopher McCandless. He's quite the polarizing figure. I know I should just review the movie at hand, but I can't help but also comment on what this guy really did.

The movie itself is pretty schizophrenic. I found it confusing, at times, to figure out the order of things. I had to piece it together in my mind after turning the movie off.

It's a very quiet film. There's no crazy drama or heart-stopping action scenes. Just a contemplative journey by a young fellow who thought he knew better then everyone around him. I can relate to this. Or at least part of it. People ARE far too reliant on technology. People DO need to get "back to nature" and understand this world we live in more. It's just the way he did this goes against all common sense. Especially for such a smart guy. He was so determined to get away from it all, that he threw sense out the window. There's nothing wrong with wanting to go on an Alaskan adventure. Just BE PREPARED. Honestly, He's an idiot for not doing this, and paid the ultimate price.

Emile Hirsch is the only character that counts here and he does a fantastic job. I still don't think he's the world's greatest actor or anything , but he certainly gained a lot of respect from me with this role.

Everyone else play their parts just fine. Especially the trippy dippy hippies played by Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker. I tell ya, that life looks like torture to me, though. I just don't get how anyone could live like that. *shivers*.

Then there's the total lack of respect for his family. He couldn't even send them an anonymous postcard letting them know he was ok? It never occurred to him how much worry and stress they would be going through? I get the rough life he had growing up, but come on. That was a dick move right there.

I did like the movie, and being a very thoughtful, contemplative person myself, I could relate to Christopher in many ways. I just found it to be a bit too long, and a tad disjointed.

Afterthought: I've never been a huge Pearl jam/Eddie Vedder fan, and that didn't didn't change after watching this, but I did think his music fit the movie well. The main theme was pretty decent. I'm glad they(Penn?) didn't try and shoehorn some bold and brassy Hollywood type soundtrack on to it. Good call, Penn.