Jaw-dropping.

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2008)

Immensely inspiring. It's a beautiful film filled with lush cinematography and superb performances. The driving force has got to be in the story. Christopher McCandless' theory of life is one that I couldn't relate to more and seeing how his life played out was extremely compelling. Emile Hirsch was...sensational. A performance that held so many emotions on it's shoulders and combined them flawlessly. In one brief smile I felt all the happiness that he gathered from the wild in my heart. This sheer joy and inspiration was contrasted painfully with the heartache of his final days on Earth which Hirsch again captured expertly in nothing more than his eyes. The shot near the beginning of his eyes tearing up as he sees the beauty of a herd of animals roaming in the snow is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. I can't describe how much I loved Hirsch in this. It's a poetic and wonderfully uplifting tale that had me in awe the entire duration. I should also mention that Eddie Vedder's songs were breathtaking.