A Tragic and Moving Personal Journey and a Triumph for Penn and Hirsch...

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2009)

INTO THE WILD is a terribly sad and emotionally gripping cinematic journey, incredibly based on a true story, about a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. who after graduating from college, decides to forsake his cushy upper middle class lifestyle, change his name to Alexander Supertramp, and journey across country,with nothing but the clothes on his back, with his eventual goal being to travel to the Alaskan wilderness. Sean Penn's meticulous direction and eloquent screenplay take us on a cinematic journey quite unlike anything we've seen before. This is not an easy watch...there are several moments in this film depicting what Chris has to do to survive in the wilderness that completely redefine the phrase "roughing it" and definitely make this a film not for all tastes. but if you can stomach it, the journey is worth it and will leave a lump in the throat. Emile Hirsch is impressive in the physically and emotionally demanding role of Chris, probably the strongest performance of his career. Oscar winners William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden appear as Chris' parents and Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, and in a performance that earned him his first Oscar nomination, Hal Holbrook, also score in brief supporting roles. The film is also beautifully photographed with some breathtaking scenery but it is the work of Penn and Hirsch that make this deliberate journey worth your time.