Into the Wild (2007)

• Year: 2007
• Released: 19 Oct 2007
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 23 wins & 106 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Into_the_Wild
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/into-the-wild
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Danish
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
• Runtime: 148 min
• Writer: Sean Penn, Jon Krakauer
• Director: Sean Penn
• Cast: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener
• Keywords: biography, based on true story, based on a true story, parent child relationship, road trip,

	8.1/10
	73/100
	83% – Critics
	89% – Audience

Into the Wild Storyline

In the spring of 1990, Christopher McCandless obtains his undergraduate degree from Emory. Watching him get his degree are his wealthy parents, Walt McCandless and Billie McCandless, and his teenaged sister, Carine McCandless. Before his parents and sister head home to Virginia following the convocation, Chris, refusing his parents’ gift of a new car to replace his old Datsun which he states works perfectly fine, tells them that he has thoughts of going into Harvard Law, he having received excellent grades in what were largely classes focusing on global social consciousness. Walt, Billie and Carine will learn by the end of the summer that Chris had no intention of going to Harvard as he has since moved from his apartment in Atlanta without a word to them, he arranging with the post office to hold his mail for a couple of months before being “returned to sender” to give him a head start in his escape from his family. Chris’ Datsun is eventually discovered abandoned in the Arizona desert, the authorities believing it being done on purpose as opposed to Chris being abducted. Walt and Billie intend to continue to search for Chris until they know conclusively what has happened to him. Carine, having had much the same upbringing as Chris, believes she understands what he is doing in making this escape. What he has done is either donated most of his money to Oxfam or burned it, and has destroyed all of his ID in an effort to start life anew as a child of the Earth, he rechristening himself Alexander Supertramp. This move is in rebellion to much of western society, and most specifically against the type of life his parents epitomize, they who he believes should never have gotten married and are hypocrites in portraying what they believe society expects of them, being generally unhappy with each other and life in the process. He ultimately wants to live off the land, carrying with him only what material possessions he will need, but wants to experience freedom by traveling the country by thumbing rides or riding the rails, working the odd job until he earns enough to purchase what he needs at any give time, and obtaining some skills he knows he will need to survive in the destination he has in mind when he is ready: the wilds of Alaska. Despite stating that he does not want or need attachments, he does make some human connections along the way, and not necessarily to/with like-minded people.

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Into the Wild Movie Reviews

Beautiful Film, Even Better Than The Book

For a movie to be even better than a good book is no small feat. Yet, that’s how I felt after watching this film. It really impressed me. One of the reasons is the fantastic cinematography. Man, this is a beautifully filmed and, at 142 minutes, there are a lot of great scenes to admire.

Sean Penn directed and Eddie Gautier was the Director Of Photography. I can’t stand Penn as a person but fair-is-fair and I think he’s great as a director, having seen his work in “The Pledge” and “The Crossing Guard.” The main actor, Emile Hirsch, who plays “Chris McCandless” (a.k.a. “Alexander Supertramp” reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio with his looks, build and voice inflection. He is very credible as the young guy who wants nothing to do with materialistic society and dreams of living in the wilds of Alaska. The problem was that he was unprepared and underestimated what he was up against.

Two people who fascinated me the most in here were two extremes, age-wise – Hal Holbrook and Kristen Stewart. It was really great to see the veteran Holbrook (“Ron France”) again. He was about 82 when he made this film and hadn’t acted in a film in a few years. He was terrific, too. He had some of the most memorable scenes in the story. Meanwhile, teenager Stewart was captivating as “Tracy Tatro,” who had a crush on “Alex.” This young woman is on her way to stardom.

Brian Dierker and Catherine Keener also were really, really interesting as the aging hippie couple, “Rainey” and “Jan.” I kept thinking, I know this guy when listening to Dierker’s voice, finally guessing it was Jeff Bridges underneath all the beard….but it Dierker, a guy who rarely acts in films.

Knowing the book, the only part of the film that caught be off-guard was the young Swedish couple. I don’t remember them in the book but I’ll never forget this in this film!! One could debate the pros and cons of Chris McCandless for hours, so no sense going into that here. I thought the film was pretty kind to him. You read more in the book about how he hurt a lot of people with his silence. Either way, it’s a a fascinating story and a beautiful film.

A most unique…but not entirely pleasant viewing experience.

There is a certain irony to the story from “Into the Wild”, as Hollywood, the land of excess, does a film about a man who got rid of all his possessions in order to live simply off the land. It would be like me (at 250 pounds) writing a diet book! Now I am not attacking Sean Penn or the film or any of the ones who made the film…but in general I just cannot associate Hollywood with the life of Christopher McCandless!

The story begins with Chris graduating from Emory University, a prestigious school in Georgia. Now you’d think he would be on the fast track to financial success…but instead he gives away nearly everything he has and heads into the wilderness to live a bit like a nomad. It seems Chris was tired of a life of acquiring things and wanted to live simply…and mostly alone. He also seemed to be running away from himself….or at least who he and his family were. Ultimately his life would take him from the American Southwest all the way to the wilds of Alaska. This tale is based on a true story, as told by Chris’ sister in the film.

I think this is a movie where I enjoyed the style more than the story itself. I liked the simple style, the simple music and the mostly lesser-named stars in the picture. I also respect how much Emile Hirsch put himself out for the role…his weight loss throughout the movie was dramatic. As a trained therapist, however, I couldn’t help but think the Chris would have benefited a lot from therapy before taking such a huge leap in his life. He was clearly, in an odd way, suicidal and I was concerned how the film seemed to romanticize this. Overall, an interesting but often unpleasant and overlong movie…worth seeing once but not a film I’d rush to recommend.

Wanderlust vision

Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) abandoned his life, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to Oxfam International and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness after graduating from Emory University. He has always been uncomfortable with material things, and decide to leave that life completely behind. He has some profound experiences along the way to his bus in the Alaskan wilderness.

Director Sean Penn adapts Jon Krakauer’s novel. This movie is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless. This is a beautiful performance from Emile Hirsch. He embodies the role so completely. Sean Penn is able to infuse this movie with the same wanderlust that the real Christopher must have had. And Kristen Stewart has a great minor role. We really have a profound into the wild experience.