Review of Into the Wild (2007) by Chads. — 05 Mar 2008
Had Christopher McCandless(Emile Hirsch) forgiven mom and dad before that fateful nature hike and returned to civilization, his experiment in ascetic living would've been exposed as merely an extreme adventure disguised as a protestation against materialism.
Like the woman in Pulp's "Common People", Christopher, at any time, could've returned to his upper-middle class roots, once came to terms with his crummy childhood. Real poor people, however, if you asked them, would love to have a crummy childhood like Christopher's.
But because this young man died, horribly, these projected criticisms about his so-called heroism, fall by the wayside. "Into the Wild" demonstrates how literature, not just populist music, can influence young people to make bad choices.
What's the difference between Silverchair and Jack London if you're the sort of person who turns to external forces as the culprit each time tragedy strikes somebody down prematurely? Since "Into the Wild" uses a lot of flashbacks and voiceovers, the depiction of Christopher's death, albeit somewhat distasteful and exploitative, finally captures the isolation and loneliness that this young man encountered.
It's hard to watch.
This review of Into the Wild (2007) was written by Chads. on 05 Mar 2008.
Into the Wild has generally received very positive reviews.
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