Into the Wild [With Hollywood Movie Money] (2007)

Into the Wild

Finally! A mvoie as well done as the book was excellent

WONDERFUL--READ THE BOOK AND WATCHED FILM--GREAT COMPANION PIECES--AND HELPFUL IN MAKING COMPARISONS AND CRITIQUES.

follow your heart

this is a GREAT movie. it is an accuratly true story about this young man who looks for truth, freedom, and simple beauty in nature. the movie is popcorned with real people acting, so the movie FEELS real as a whole. It's humorous, thought- provoking, and inspiring. It has many beautiful shots and a soulful soundtrack mostly by eddie vedder.
WATCH IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT

2007's most under appreciated film

I have but one complaint about Sean Penn's brilliant adaptation of Jon Krakauer's gripping saga of wanderlust, incredibly poor judgment, and death in Alaska: too much Eddie Vedder for my taste. However, that wasn't enough to detract from drinking in the well-crafted journey of real-life eccentric loaner Chris McCandless.

Emil Hirsch's charm and devil-may-care grin allowed me to get over my frustration with his character's obsessive "death wish" and simply ride along with him. And what a ride it was?I'm convinced Sean Penn channeled, to some extent, the visual aesthetic of Terrence Malick with an attention to detail, and nature as bystander, typical of the latter director's own films. Eric Gautier's cinematography is lush and pensive and brings to life the physical realities McCandless must have sought out and escape into.

The cast is splendid. Mr. Penn should be praised for bringing a very decent performance out of Vince Vaughn. (Werner Herzog managed the same feat casting a credible Steve Zahn in "Rescue Dawn". Another under appreciated 2007 biopic.) As Carine McCandless, Jena Malone does a terrific job of narrating the film through letters written by her brother, always a one-way communiqué. While the entire cast is praise worthy the relationship between McCandless and the elderly Ron Franz, played by Hal Holbrook, and then Jan Burres, played by Catherine Keener, brought to life an even deeper sense of heartbreak to the Into the Wild story?soliciting tears without becoming maudlin. I found myself drawn to the characters McCandless collected during his travels even envying the self-reliance and ingenuity of Slab City?an existence a far cry from my own.

It was unfortunate to see Sean Penn shunned by the Oscars (SAG got it right) but I have a theory that the Academy is terrified of real-life loaners perishing in Alaska, rather than an aversion to his adaptation of an equally compelling book.