Andrew McMurtryREVIEW: Into The Wild (2007)
February 1st 2009 15:23
Sean Penn’s movie “Into the Wild” is the real-life story of Christopher Johnson McCandless (Emile Hirsch), and is also the adaptation of the bestseller by Jon Krakauer. The story begins with the his unhappy family driving Chris to find more out of life, which he sees as a call to go into the wild, and ends in tragic death in a sudden, unexpected manner. But while the sadness is on either end of the story and his family struggles with his decision to leave in search of meaning and experience, the tone of the film is upbeat and inspirational. It makes you want to get out into nature and live.
Chris McCandless, and later his pseudonym Alexander Supertramp, is a free-spirited adventurer at heart but, at school, is very smart. After graduating his grades are good enough for Harvard law. But his intelligence carries over into all facets of his life. Despite this, his heart yearns for the never-ending possibilities of life if he is just allowed to live without possessions and the worries and general hustle of everyday life. His idea of living seemed to be not tying himself down with material possessions that he doesn’t need. With only food and water and whatever he could carry on his back, he began his journey without telling anyone. He just seemed to disappear. This simple act of being away from his parents and away from the city seems to raise his spirits up and he seems happy while he’s away.
Christopher, an “aesthetic voyager”, travels across the country on a two year journey to the promise land of Alaska where he wouldn’t have to deal with the busy, material life that people seem content to live with. The real story of Chris McCandless began in 1990 and travelled across America to Mexico and finally to Alaska where he meets his ultimate demise. The thing about it is that he doesn’t appear to regret anything. A promising, intelligent man in his early twenties is struck down in the prime of his life and yet he doesn’t seem to have any regrets about his trip, except for the death thing. The people he meets are uplifting and interesting.
Ultimately Chris’ search for joy in his life comes undone in a gruesome and terrible way. The sad and most painful thing is he knows his death is imminent and has to carry on. He wasn’t out there to give up. What he left behind him though, the lives he touched and the experiences he gained though his journey make this story so inspirational. It makes you want to live your life to its fullest. Maybe not like Chris did because it was very dangerous but maybe just taking some chances that you would take normally. Just try minimalism rather than defining yourself with possessions. But the best experience he gained through his travels was that “happiness is only real when shared”. This may seem like a downer, because he dies alone, but he learnt something real, that while the call to go into nature is all well and good, you need companionship to truly appreciate how wonderful something is. Watching the movie, it becomes obvious that he discovers this for himself in the meetings with all those he meets.
Those people Chris meets on his journey and as the story unravels, sparks several realisations. Originally it is his parents; his arrogant father (William Hurt) and comparably passive mother (Marcia Gay Harden) are the reason for his leaving. His sister Carine (Jena Malone) acts as his voice when he’s gone as the narrator, as she is closest to him in his home life. The pain of Chris’ leaving and the longing in her voice are obvious throughout its entirety. She had been left behind to witness the continuation of their parent’s volatile relationship when Chris leaves and cuts of any lines of communication. But the people he meets and touches are the real story. Rainey (Brian Dierker) and Jan (Catherine Keener) are two hippies he meets on his journey. They struggle to keep their relationship together while on the road. Chris acts communication line and helps them to rebuild their bond. Next he meets grain dealer Wayne (Vince Vaughan), who is a great, easy-going guy. Chris develops a strong friendship with Wayne and reveals why he is leaving society and what problems he is running away from. Next he has a love interest, in Tracy (Kristen Stewart) and forms a bond, more of a friendship than a love, although not for lack of her trying. Finally there is Ron (Hal Holbrook), a retired military man living in the California desert. He and Chris talk and become really close. So much so that they basically become all each other has. But as Alaska beckons, Chris has to continue on his journey, even if it means leaving people he cares about behind, until he realises he is all alone.
The cinematography and director Sean Penn’s brilliant camera work as well as great visual story-telling lend this to be a visually spectacular movie experience. Seeing the wonder of the best America has to offer in the majestic views of Pacific Northwest woodlands, the canyons and deserts and mountains and prairies and finally, Alaska. This landscape is beautiful and is a perfect advertisement for the wonder of America’s natural beauty. The storytelling and script are fantastic as well. Telling the story from Carine’s perspective was also well done. The whole structure of the movie being an unpredictable journey and great pieces of insight from the great writers from history makes the story so insightful and inspirational. The soundtrack by Eddie Vedder is strong and powerful. The country/acoustic sound is good but the sound of silence is sometimes the best music of all for this film. The use of music when they were trying to show the grandeur of nature is a bit annoying, especially when the vocals are so powerful. It was good in the montage-type transitions, but sometimes it just seems too much.
This movie seemed to me to have the message that to really look at yourself, you have to look at yourself through many different eyes, as well as the central message of “happiness is only real when shared”. It seems to be a bit strange that Chris is such sociable person and yet reclusive in that he rejects society. But this film is very good. It looks great, has a good script, good acting and great actors. Emile Hirsch carries the film really well and is developing into a very good leading man. There is just something about it though that will stop it from being a classic film. “Into the Wild” is about the desire for freedom which becomes an answer to Chris McCandless’ life. I’d give this film 3.5 out of 5.
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