Into the Wild DVD Review
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Into the Wild is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, a college graduate who donates his law school fund to a charity in order to pursue a journey void of materialism. His desire to pursue this journey, with the ultimate goal of reaching and spending time in Alaska, is fueled by his need to get away from an abusive father and dysfunctional family immersed in materialism.
Main Players
The movie is directed by Sean Penn and includes performances by Emile Hirsch (as McCandless a.k.a Alex Supertramp), William Hurt (as his father) and Marcia Gay Harden (as his mother).
The Disjointed Story
The story follows McCandless on his journey, jumping back and forth between a chronological timeline and frequent revisits to Alaska where the story ends. McCandless takes up odd jobs to raise funds as he makes his way through the Grand Canyon, Mexico, LA and northward. He meets a few characters along the way and although some are interesting, there is never enough time to give the characters any real depth. The exception being Jan Burres (played by Catherine Keener), a hippie who takes to McCandless as he reminds her of her own son who simply disappeared from her life.
My Review Goes Against the Grain
This movie has received very good reviews - from critics and real movie goers alike - but I found the story to be disjointed and very painfully dull. Emile Hirsch’s performance was, as always stellar, but he just wasn’t given much to work in this screenplay that seriously lacked any depth. Or perhaps, it’s the viewer that lack depth, but I don’t think so. 
Of course, my opinion of the movie is likely tainted by my inability to see McCandless as having any sort of heroism or real purpose in his rebellion. He was a selfish young adult who was completely unprepared for what the journey had to offer. He was not only unprepared for the harshness of living off the land, but also clearly suffered from the effects of isolation. He ran away from people, but clearly needed them.
Although, I’ve never read the book, but this is just one of the movies that is likely better in print.
Posted by Alice
The book is definitely better than the movie. I enjoyed both, but the book is leaps and bounds better and has way more story to it than what was shown in the movie. I think they were trying too hard to keep it short for the big screen.