Mainly Pointless

Rating: 7/10 (25 October 2007)

The film was a well-written, had great acting and great directing but this all went towards telling a mostly pointless story. Similar movies could have been made about any of a million emotionally troubled homeless people. I think that this particular troubled homeless man's story got made into a film for two reasons. He liked to quote literature, giving the writer a handy device for revealing the protagonists thoughts concisely and poetically. He also chose to be homeless in scenic locations which made for a pretty movie.
The movie is worth seeing for all of its good qualities, just don't expect to gain any insights into the human condition, or to see a character learn and grow in any meaningful way. For my money The Razor's Edge was a much more interesting film in the same genre.
I'm not suggesting that the story of Into the Wild should have veered from reality to make it more interesting. I'm saying that the story wasn't interesting enough to make it into a movie.