Review: Into The Wild

Originally posted at Epinions

Every once in a long while I see a film that really touches a nerve. A film that tells a story I can relate to, a story that is in some way my own. Into The Wild tells a story that is not only mine, it is a story that a million others share with me. There are films that dive into our psyche, explore themes, feelings, and ideas that we all, at one time or another, have experienced. Into The Wild is one of those films.

For me, I think it’s the fact that the story is about 23-year-old Chris McCandless, a college graduate disillusioned with the life set before him. He takes off across country, leaves everything behind, cuts off all ties. He experiences a freedom most of us can only dream of.

In terms of my life, where I’m at: I’m a 24-year-old college graduate who only recently decided to stop driving around the country, pick a place to live, and attempt to settle into a somewhat normal (and I mean that in the loosest sense) lifestyle. It’s a change that is hard at the best of times and watching Into The Wild I longed to be back behind the wheel of my car, driving to some new place I’ve yet to see.

Of course, in all of my travels I never cut up my credit cards, burned my money, and my parents always knew where I was. So watching Chris I was even a bit envious. Because I always saw those turn-offs on the highway, I always wondered where they would leave me, but I only ever made the turn once or twice. And I always ended up at my planned destination.

That’s where Into The Wild hits for me. It also hits through the people that Chris meets. In a sense, the film romanticizes Chris’s journey but in another way it shows so completely how his foolish decisions affected those he touched. The story expresses change in people so very, very well. Whether it’s Chris’s family (Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone), the hippies Rainy and Jan (Brian Dierker and Catherine Keener), the farmer who’s business practices aren’t completely straight (Vince Vaughn), a lonely old man (Hal Holbrook), an innocent young girl (Kristen Stewart), or Chris himself (Emile Hirsch), the film shows subtly who they are and who they become. In each case, it’s about love. Love is the idea at the heart of Into The Wild. What it takes to find it, what we need to feel it, that we all deserve it.

Into The Wild is by far one of the best films of 2007. Sean Penn does a remarkable job in bringing Jon Krakauer’s book about Chris to life. Every actor becomes the person they are portraying. Penn tells the story with sensitivity while at the same time showing us Chris’s flaws. It’s not about Chris’s fate; it’s about the journey he takes. So yes, there is a bit of romanticizing going on, but the film isn’t telling us to necessarily follow in Chris’s footsteps. Because ultimately his path is as foolish as it is hurtful to those in his life. It’s a tragedy that it took so much for Chris to find what he was searching for.

The film shows how lonely and lost we can all be. It understands that we are all searching for something. What are we searching for? I have no idea. I guess it’s something different for everyone, I certainly haven’t found my something yet. And maybe that’s why I can relate to Chris’s story so well.
Not only is the story well told, the film is just very well done. As much of the story is told visually as it is told through dialogue, narration, and music. Oh yes, I can’t forget to mention the music. It seems so appropriate that Eddie Vedder has put together this soundtrack. The soundtrack compliments the film so perfectly that I’m not really sure what more I can say about it. Beyond that it’s perfect.

Into The Wild is one of those rare films where I actually agree with all the hype, where I think the attention is actually deserved. It’s a film that I just can’t recommend enough.