Into the Wild

Rating R Formats DVD Genre drama Starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Hal Holbrook Directed by Sean Penn Publisher Paramount External Links Official Into The Wild Website

I’m pretty sure Emile Hirsch could take a one of the worst movies ever made and make it awesome. Fortunately, he did not have to save Into the Wild. I begged my friends to go see this movie and they finally relented. I was telling them that it was a great, life changing story that everyone should take the time to see. My real reason to see Into the Wild, which was probably not hidden well, was that Emile Hirsch is just ridiculously good looking. BUT, he is also an incredibly gifted actor. I also read the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and enjoyed it very much. So, I didn’t just go into the movie like a pre-teen wanting to see a major cutie. I don’t know if it was the whole premise of the movie or just the way it was filmed but I came out of that movie feeling like I wanted to travel around and forget about life for a while.

Sean Penn is a phenomenal director. He did an amazing job with this movie. He filmed it in way where the viewer feels like they are along for the adventure that the main character takes. Into the Wild is based on the true life happenings of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a recent college graduate that abandons his belongings and his family in search of something better. His main goal is to go to Alaska and live off the wilderness with no watch, no extras, and no real map. He walks or hitchhikes to different parts of the United States meeting many different people. The film follows McCandless and his adventures he comes by along the way. He is an avid reader of Thoreau, and other philosophers from years past and matches almost any situation he is in with one of their quotes. He is a smart man however; he is much too idealistic for the world that he lives in. That was why he wanted to go into Alaska and live off the wild to put things into perspective. With no map and no real provisions the ideal trek into the wild becomes dangerous and eventually fatal.

Emile Hirsch is such a talented young actor. He is honestly one of the best actors that are under 25 that I have seen for a long time. He delves deep into whatever character he is playing to make that impression last on the audience. He usually plays a character in movies that is just on the border of self destruction. His characters live the way they want regardless of the consequences. He plays Chris McCandless well and true.

Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt have only minor rolls in the movie as Chris McCandless’s parents but the time they are on the screen they are fabulous. When reading the book it told how McCandless had such a problem with his parents and their values. These actors bring the book’s descriptions to real life. They are your typical suburban couple, obsessed with appearances and possessions. They are both wonderful actors a part from this movie as well. They fit well as the parents of the troubled but smart young man looking for something more.

The rest of the characters that McCandless comes into contact with make the movie so interesting. He meets people that are all over the board. Some are crazy and some are the most normal people that a person would ever meet. All of the actors that played these people did so with such intensity. They truly seemed to be people that a person would meet by traveling. Even the people with the minor rolls made their impact on the film.

Again this movie does not need Special Features to save it. But if you would like to partake in some extras fun check out the entire second disc of the DVD. It has really cool features on it like filming the movie.

Into the Wild is by far one of my favorite movies and not for the reason I thought it would be (Emile Hirsch). It is one of my favorite movies because of the adventure that McCandless went on. There is something romantic about just packing up and leaving your life behind. That is why this movie is so awesome to me, because he meets such amazing people that change his life, no matter how much or how little. I would like to think that the real Chris McCandless met these same extraordinary people on his journey. Some of the people in the movie were discussed in the book but I would like to think he met all of these people portrayed by actors and some more that were just as crazy and great as shown in the movie. When watching Into the Wild you forget that it is just a movie. Everything seems so real that it makes the viewer feel like they are going into the wild with McCandless. See for yourself. If true stories are your thing than you won’t be disappointed watching Into the Wild.