A Different Kind Of American Dream

Rating: 6/10 (24 April 2009)

Chris McCandless graduates Emory University in Atlanta with grades good enough to "get into Harvard Law" and his parents are jazzed and want to buy him a new car. Chris is not jazzed though about his parents version of the American Dream and its materialism and making a good impression on the neighbors. Chris is real intelligent and thoughtful and does not want to live in the work-a-day world and save for retirement – he wants to LIVE. So, he donates his law school money to charity and hits the road.
For such a smart guy who did well in college for himself and learned about things that interested him, he does make a couple of dumb mistakes – like not reading road signs or important books.
This film is wonderfully filmed, especially the slow motion water scenes, and written and directed by Sean Penn who puts his all into this film like he does with his acting roles. Emile Hirsch is very strong in the role of Chris and has to change his body and look as Chris lives off the land – more famine than feast.
Chris meets some cool, interesting people along the way – but, some of these encounters seem forced like the Danes along the Colorado River. Chris also learns some deep, dark family secrets – but, are they enough to make him seek his new kind of American Dream, alone in the wilderness like our forefathers?