Into the Wild

On August 18 1992, Chris McCandless died in the Alaskan wilderness and his body was discovered a month later. He was a 24 year old guy who was born in California and who ended up graduating high school in Virginia and then went to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a guy who eventually went to Arizona and South Dakota getting rides by hitchhiking, living only off the land and working only small jobs or no jobs at all. He then goes off to Alaska in the very harsh, cold wilderness and seemingly very unprepared for the journey.

This is one of the most interesting death stories around and it is still filled with many unanswered questions. The story was later made into a non-fiction book Into the Wild in 1997 written by Jon Krakauer which later turned into a best seller. The film adaption came later in 2007.

A film adaption of this story to me would seem risky. It is a story based on thought and emotion and learning how to live out in the wilderness. He might have a fine acting career but it is little funny to see that Sean Penn directed this. Even more, Chris McCandless is more a mystery character to portray because we really never got many answers about him.

Well Into the Wild is full of ups and downs but it comes out well in the end.

I give credit to Sean Penn who picks the right Christopher McCandless in Emile Hirsch. Hirsch is an actor who can deliver all the emotions that  this character needs to bring to the story. McCandless is hard to root for but at the same time, you should be interested in the character because he is like no other. Kristen Stewart plays Tracy Taro as a love interest who is ultimately rushed here and hers is a character you wished saw more of. Hal Holbrook plays Ron Frantz, an older generation guy who picks up Chris as a hitchhiker and forms a very strong bond with him. Even Vice Vaughn shows up as Wayne Westerberg, McCanndless' best friend in North Dakota. The cast is filled with old stars, current stars and unknown stars at the time but ultimately all play good characters.

Along the way, this is a film that works on atmosphere. From the seeing California nudists in the valley, to watching McCandless canyoning up the Arizona channel and to the Alaskan wilderness, culture shock comes into play here and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I don't see Into the Wild as high re-watch film because of it's sad subject matter. Still though, this works for fans of the book and also for people that didn't read the book for that matter. It is another way to look into one of the most interesting stories around.

3.5/5