Into the Wild
Directed by Sean Penn. US. 2007. R. 148 min.
Sponsored by Wellsprings Congregation
- Sun, Aug 23, 2:00 pm
Based upon the nonfiction bestseller by Jon Krakauer, and directed by film star/bad boy Sean Penn, this is one of the most fascinating and emotionally evocative films made in many years. It is the true story of a promising young student, Christopher McCandless (played with hypnotic intensity by Emile Hirsch) who, upon graduating from college, cashes in his law school fund, burns all of his identification, and starts hitchhiking across America, heading for Alaska. Like his idol, Jack London, McCandless is determined to leave society behind and “get back to nature.” Along the way, he meets up with a number of fascinating characters (played by such fine actors as Hal Holbrook, Vince Vaughn, and Catherine Keener) who become like an extended family, while his parents (William Hurt, and Marcia Gay Harden), who don’t know where he is, worry themselves sick. As Roger Ebert has said, Into the Wild “is a reflective, regretful, serious film about a young man swept away by his uncompromising choices.” As such, it is an incredibly sensitive tale of idealism, friendship, and solitude, and should not be missed.