Hirsch Goes Wild.

Rating: 8/10 (14 September 2015)

Into the Wild (2007): Dir: Sean Penn / Cast: Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone, Hal Holbrook: True account of one's escape from their past or roots. Emile Hirsch abandons his wealthy upbringing and treks to Alaska without money. Structure chronicles the people he encounters and the affect he renders but he finds shelter in an abandon bus. Director Sean Penn creates realism, and like one of his previous films The Pledge, he sends the hero down a downward spiral of despair. Hirsch is excellent as someone feeling pressured within his upbringing and seeks escape. It is an experience in survival and consequence as he quickly adapts to a new lifestyle. William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden play his verbally abusive parents who pushed too hard and face a future of regret and grief. Jena Malone plays his sister who understood him. She receives letters from him but she refuses to inform her parents of his whereabouts. There are numerous notable cameos of actors portraying those Hirsch encounters and impacts with his story. Perhaps the biggest standout is Hal Holbrook whose bond with Hirsch is so strong that he views him like a son. The conclusion is hopeless making one wonder why anyone would give up the privileges of his former life to go into the wild of freedom, beauty, survival, despair, and ultimately death. Score: 8 / 10