Into the Wild

Sean Penn’s adventure spirited Into the Wild is a long haul by all means, a 160 minute adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s novel of the same name chronicling the exodus from luxury made by a real life young man named Christopher McCandless (played here by Emile Hirsch). Following his graduation from Emory College, McCandless burns all his personal documents, donates his life savings to charity, and sets out penniless on a journey into the uncertainty of a hitchhiking lifestyle. His goal is to make his way to Alaska and immerse himself in its beautiful natural landscapes. Along the way he runs into a number of different characters (Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, and Vince Vaughn among others), picks up a number of small jobs here and there, and experiences the hardships of what he determines to be “a real life” unlike the life of comfortable lies he accuses his parents of forcing upon him.

The psychology of McCandless is never quite settled here. And maybe it shouldn’t be. What would drive anyone to undergo such a radical self-transformation could probably never be articulated by any words other than their own, and even then it would probably fall short of whatever clearly powerful internal experience they were having. The only shortcoming of this nature in the film is that McCandless comes off as hardly more than a brat for a brief time in the film. Eventually, his selfless behavior and all-around charming spirit warm him up, but in the early stages of his journey as he’s essentially laying the blame of all his woes on his well-intentioned, affectionate parents, who did mislead him and perhaps hurt him but never seem to have done anything to elicit such hatred, we sympathize more with them than him. But after all, this if a film about coming of age, and doing so in extreme ways. It’s Christopher McCandless’ experiences that grow him into a person we care for and in his concluding moments he reaches a mature realization that reminds us just how far he’s come from the snotty devil may care kid of the opening frames.

Penn’s got a steady hand in the delicate balance of time and place here. The film is edited with McCandless’ fate spelled out for us, leaving flashbacks to give us the details as to how he arrived in the Alaskan wilderness of his dreams. Much is done in montage, registering smaller points in mere flashes. Even with all this shorthand, the film still feels a bit long. But there’s no doubt it’s a visually arresting film with stunning nature photography. When the story stalls, there’s certainly more than enough visual style to admire. Besides, even in the dullest moment it’s almost impossible to take your eyes off of Hirsch, an actor who has seemingly been “the next big thing” for years and counting. He’s found his best, role yet in McCandless and he delivers a fearless, subtly affecting performance that resonates with “a star is born” charisma.

Grade: A-