Into the Wild was a film that left a mark on myself, both cinematically and on life. I watched it back in 2015-2016 and it was like nothing I had seen before, the realism of it. I took an instant liking to it and still remember specific scenes inside my head. It's based upon the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer and tells the story of Christopher McCandless ("Alexander Supertramp"). The film was written, co-produced, and directed by Sean Penn. He gives us a spectacular experience, both in entertainment and for fans of cinema. There's so many things the film does right, cinematography is one of them and Éric Gautier made a special and beautiful looking film. Another highlight is the musical score done by Eddie Vedder, along with Michael Brook and Kaki King. Into the Wild was nominated for two Golden Globes and won the award for Best Original Song: "Guaranteed" by Eddie Vedder. It was also nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook.
After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Sean Penn begins Into the Wild with Chris McCandless' mother waking up from an nightmare and afterwards we get to see a montage with our main character traveling across the States to his destination where he's going to live and survive in the wilderness, there's two reasons why this sequence makes us immersed and it's because of the writing and text we get to see from his journals but also the visuals with for example the landmarks and signs which makes us get some bearings where he is. It's an efficient way of starting the film, both storytelling and to engage the viewer. When the montage stops and the car ride is over, Jim Gallien remains in the car and we get a wide shot of the car to the left and Chris McCandless beside it, the camera angle switches from wide to normal as McCandless steps closer to Gallien. We then get to follow our protagonist and see the nature which the wilderness has to offer whilst Gallien drives back to civilization. That's the beginning of the film and already, Sean Penn knows exactly what he's doing, with a brilliant and intelligent screenplay, and terrific direction and visual storytelling from him. Through flashbacks we get to see more of who Chris McCandless was and his reasoning to do the trip two years later, which shows him burning money and leaving his car behind after a flood in Arizona and thus began hiking. Here, he shows signs of his belief in transcendentalism. As you quickly come to notice, it's not Chris McCandless who's narrating the film but in another way he does through his journal, I'm of course thinking of Carine McCandless who's narrating it. Jena Malone's performance is quite good, giving heart to the role through the narration and dramatic performance. It's quite possible this is how much of the information was gathered, through Chris McCandless' sister and parents. Another scene which has some great direction and filmmaking is when McCandless is inside a city during the end of chapter 2, you see his frustration and nervous behavior through the editing and performance, how he just wants to get out of there. That sequence shows the theme of man vs society in its entirety, how everything he had done up to that point was just right for him, which he later on fully embraced in Alaska.
The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless, Marcia Gay Harden as his mother, William Hurt as his father, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Brian H. Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook. Although Hal Holbrook doesn't have a big role in the film, his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor is well deserved and his scenes with Emile Hirsch are excellent, truly terrific. His character is possibly entirely fictional but so well written and realistic, a performance and character you can appreciate. During my first viewing I absolutely loved Emile Hirsch's performance as Chris McCandless, it haven't changed I just have come to respect it even more, most of the time he's acting beside himself and he's great in both those scenes and the ones he's acting alongside others. He captures the soul of Chris McCandless perfectly.
What film can you compare Into the Wild with? I would say Wild (2014) which stars Reese Witherspoon, it's quite a similar movie/story but the big difference is how Cheryl Strayed survived and Chris McCandless met an unfortunate demise. At first viewing, I didn't expect the film to delve so much into McCandless' background which is very similar to Wild (2014). Now on my second viewing, I'm much more grateful for the flashback chapters. If they would have solely shown us what's happening in Alaska, the film wouldn't be as 'true' because of how little is known about Chris' time there and from his other travels, yet it's what we know of him. Lots of things are probably fictional but that's alright, it's part of the experience, the events might be fictional but Chris McCandless isn't. Everything he does in the film, I'm certain he would do in real life. The "Magic" bus became an iconic location, a landmark because of the book and film, having been removed from its location and moved to a museum. One thing I absolutely love about the film is how it's shot on location, for example the Alaska scenes was filmed 50 miles (80 km) south of where McCandless actually died, in the tiny town of Cantwell. It just makes such a difference for us viewers and the actors when the film is shot on location like that. Into the Wild is a cinematic masterpiece, a film I've wanted to rewatch for many years and it was finally the right time. The film remains entertaining and interesting, making you rethink life. The ending remains heartbreaking. Sean Penn created a masterpiece with Into the Wild, its cinema. I'll leave my final words for. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave the film four stars out of four and described it as "spellbinding". Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", commenting: "It is great acting, and more than acting." Ebert added, "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director, Sean Penn."
After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Sean Penn begins Into the Wild with Chris McCandless' mother waking up from an nightmare and afterwards we get to see a montage with our main character traveling across the States to his destination where he's going to live and survive in the wilderness, there's two reasons why this sequence makes us immersed and it's because of the writing and text we get to see from his journals but also the visuals with for example the landmarks and signs which makes us get some bearings where he is. It's an efficient way of starting the film, both storytelling and to engage the viewer. When the montage stops and the car ride is over, Jim Gallien remains in the car and we get a wide shot of the car to the left and Chris McCandless beside it, the camera angle switches from wide to normal as McCandless steps closer to Gallien. We then get to follow our protagonist and see the nature which the wilderness has to offer whilst Gallien drives back to civilization. That's the beginning of the film and already, Sean Penn knows exactly what he's doing, with a brilliant and intelligent screenplay, and terrific direction and visual storytelling from him. Through flashbacks we get to see more of who Chris McCandless was and his reasoning to do the trip two years later, which shows him burning money and leaving his car behind after a flood in Arizona and thus began hiking. Here, he shows signs of his belief in transcendentalism. As you quickly come to notice, it's not Chris McCandless who's narrating the film but in another way he does through his journal, I'm of course thinking of Carine McCandless who's narrating it. Jena Malone's performance is quite good, giving heart to the role through the narration and dramatic performance. It's quite possible this is how much of the information was gathered, through Chris McCandless' sister and parents. Another scene which has some great direction and filmmaking is when McCandless is inside a city during the end of chapter 2, you see his frustration and nervous behavior through the editing and performance, how he just wants to get out of there. That sequence shows the theme of man vs society in its entirety, how everything he had done up to that point was just right for him, which he later on fully embraced in Alaska.
The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless, Marcia Gay Harden as his mother, William Hurt as his father, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Brian H. Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook. Although Hal Holbrook doesn't have a big role in the film, his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor is well deserved and his scenes with Emile Hirsch are excellent, truly terrific. His character is possibly entirely fictional but so well written and realistic, a performance and character you can appreciate. During my first viewing I absolutely loved Emile Hirsch's performance as Chris McCandless, it haven't changed I just have come to respect it even more, most of the time he's acting beside himself and he's great in both those scenes and the ones he's acting alongside others. He captures the soul of Chris McCandless perfectly.
What film can you compare Into the Wild with? I would say Wild (2014) which stars Reese Witherspoon, it's quite a similar movie/story but the big difference is how Cheryl Strayed survived and Chris McCandless met an unfortunate demise. At first viewing, I didn't expect the film to delve so much into McCandless' background which is very similar to Wild (2014). Now on my second viewing, I'm much more grateful for the flashback chapters. If they would have solely shown us what's happening in Alaska, the film wouldn't be as 'true' because of how little is known about Chris' time there and from his other travels, yet it's what we know of him. Lots of things are probably fictional but that's alright, it's part of the experience, the events might be fictional but Chris McCandless isn't. Everything he does in the film, I'm certain he would do in real life. The "Magic" bus became an iconic location, a landmark because of the book and film, having been removed from its location and moved to a museum. One thing I absolutely love about the film is how it's shot on location, for example the Alaska scenes was filmed 50 miles (80 km) south of where McCandless actually died, in the tiny town of Cantwell. It just makes such a difference for us viewers and the actors when the film is shot on location like that. Into the Wild is a cinematic masterpiece, a film I've wanted to rewatch for many years and it was finally the right time. The film remains entertaining and interesting, making you rethink life. The ending remains heartbreaking. Sean Penn created a masterpiece with Into the Wild, its cinema. I'll leave my final words for. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave the film four stars out of four and described it as "spellbinding". Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", commenting: "It is great acting, and more than acting." Ebert added, "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director, Sean Penn."