Pretentious and Smug. Salvaged by beautiful cinematography and fantastic acting

Rating: 5/10 (22 June 2010)

So I finally got around to seeing this and well, it looks like I'm going to have to disagree with the majority on this one.
First there are several things I did like about it. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. The various shots of nature around different parts of the country are beautiful. I think Sean Penn's direction was great- he really captured the essence of the wanderer's lifestyle and even makes the viewer a little envious of some of those people. I thought the supporting cast was fantastic, and I found myself caring about those characters much more than I did the main character. Especially Hal Holbrook and Katherine Creener. I think she is a very underrated and talented actress. Even Kristen Stewart was OK in her small part.
That said, I thought the movie was extremely pretentious and smug. If people thought The Blind Side was a white-guilt film, then this is a societal-guilt film. It's one thing if a movie lets the story convey the message for you, but Into the Wild jams that message down your throat. After a while it's like, okay, I get it. Society is rigid and restricting, free your spirit, etc. Well sorry Alexander Supertramp, but not everyone can just ditch their responsibilities to loaf around the country and get in touch with nature.
Which brings me to the main character, Chris, who I thought was completely selfish and melodramatic. His "tragic" back story really wasn't all that tragic. So his Dad screwed around and his parents didn't get along. Welcome to life. That kid's parents gave him everything he ever needed and asked for and yet he acts like he's some damaged, abused child. And then he leaves, never contacts them again, and goes and gets himself killed. I don't have any sympathy for that and I stopped caring for the character pretty shortly into the film. The 2 and a half hour run time was a bit long for me, and like I said, after a while I got tired of Chris complaining about society. I did like that in the final minutes the character does seem to feel a little remorse with the "happiness is not true unless it is shared" bit though.
Emile Hirsch for his part did a good job. I wasn't crazy about his performance like others seem to be, but it's a very challenging role and he deserves credit. I don't remember who else was nominated that year, but he probably deserved at least a nomination.
Anyway while there were many positive things that I enjoyed about the movie, I just can't get past the pretentiousness of it all. It is a good message but this just felt like 2.5 hours worth of teen angst to me.
C+ (for the acting, direction, and photography)