An epic American adventure

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 2010)

Of all the animals shown in this movie: The Kodiak Bear, the Grey Wolf, the Bald Eagle, the Moose etc, only one has the ability to make dreams.... that animal is man.
From director Sean Penn, Into the Wild captures in detail one of the defining features of the human species; to be able to have a dream, and the desire to fulfill it. Despite a somewhat clunky two and a half hour running length (which may feel loger depending on how old you are) Into the Wild is an adventure that becomes one with the viewer. It is a demanding project but the work has paid off nicely, and I'll raise my glass to it for that.
Into the Wild is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless. After graduating college as an A+ student in 1992, he chose to leave his materialist society and stuck up family behind. He chaged his name to Alex Supertramp, and embarked on a quest for Alaska. On his journey, he covered thousands of miles of American wilderness, on foot, by train, car, kayak, meeting a plethora of weird and wonderful people along the way.
It is absolutely vital for the movie that the character of Chris/Alex is one whose company we can enjoy. After all, his journey is ours. Emile Hirsh's performance is definitely sufficient. He is a little wacky but in a good way. He is also talented, bold, determined, and fun to be around. I suppose it is also worth noting that he has a pretty face.
A movie like Into the Wild is also demanding on the crew. After all, the storyline covers about half the country, which of course means lots of transportation is needed, and lots of landscape imagery. The camera is all over the place, referring of course to locations (not movement). Into the Wild is a gorgeously photographed picture, which is backed up with a great song score from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. I remember a couple years ago during Oscar season being annoyed that his songs were snubbed, because of eligibility rules.
My one problem with the movie, is that the editing feels a bit tripy. Into the Wild frequently plays with time in a Pulp Fiction manner, and some of that time concerns flashbacks related to family melodrama. These scenes are conveniently short but they don't seem important enough to be worth showing. I suppose it's also worth mentioning that the last half hour could use a few trims.
No movie is perfect of course, and no human being is perfect either, it is not until the end of the film when we realize that about Chris. But I'll say this much, the journey was worth it, and if you can spare an hour and a half for Into the Wild, I think you will agree with me on that.