Truthful or Not, Penn's Version Grasps at Concepts Bigger Than McCandless Himself

Rating: 9/10 (19 January 2012)

Sean Penn's adaptation of the adventures of Christopher McCandless, who left society behind to aimlessly roam the western United States, find himself and try his hand at a life off the land in the remote Alaskan wilderness. At first preachy and morose, there's a tipping point early in the picture where I couldn't help but feel something for McCandless and his naive quest to subsist wholly on morals, philosophy and the kindness of strangers in place of tangible food and water. Presented as a sort of messiah figure, the errant youth touches the lives of a broad range of individuals over the course of his travels, preaches the gospel of live-and-let-live and uncovers the difficulties associated with the tramp's lifestyle in a society so concerned with protecting its citizenry from themselves. There's a lot to be learned from Christopher's path, both positive and negative, and Penn shies away from neither in this careful, convincing pseudo-documentary. It can be so enveloping at times that the sudden appearance of a recognizable actor or two along the way feels awkward and strange. A very solid effort with something to say, I only wonder if it may have been better served by a full cast of unknowns. Eddie Vedder's perfectly matched original soundtrack deserves a special mention.