It just worked for me

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2008)

I had never heard of the book nor did I know anything about the movie before I saw this. The only thing I knew about this film was that it was directed by Sean Penn, and had some acclaim.
When it started there was a sort of visceral reaction. The movie began with the monologue of what was presumably the main character. It proceeded to develop this main character in the most cliché way possible. With the stark contrast of "here he is now, this is where he was before, and this is why he might end up in the place he is now." It was just disappointing, alas I chugged on.
The development style was not the only cliché aspect of this film, the cinematography as well as all of the grandiose outdoors scenes were sometimes just too much.
Though all of these things are there to detract from the film, the main character is interesting, Emile Hirsch's portrayal is phenomenal, and the plot was engaging.
The film develops heavily within naturalistic philosophies and showcases the journey of the main character on his way to self-discovery. It ends with a great moment of self-actualization, where Emile Hirsch's character understands who he his and his place in the world (in the tradition of American Beauty, though more explicit).
The bottom line is that even though I have a strong visceral and negative intellectual reaction to the film style, in the end it works for me. By the time I get to the end I don't care about any of the technical aspects of the film, the story as well as the main character far outshines the little technical flaws. I found myself thoroughly captivated throughout the entire film. With only a few moments where I stop and think, "wow, you've got to be kidding me".
It in every way was captured by the movie, and the movie in some ways (keeping in mind I saw the movie before reading the book) is more powerful than the book.
Maybe it's that I'm originally from Wyoming, or that I'm just a sucker for Russian literature, but in the end this film just worked for me. I do, in the end, highly recommend it. Even if it doesn't work in the same way for you, it still has important meaning, and is no waste of time.