Into the Wild [Blu-ray]

Into the Wild [Blu-ray] Review

A decade ago, shortly after losing a friend in a plane crash and going through the hell of waiting for wreckage to be found, etc., I read the book that this movie is based on. Between wondering what had become of my friend and reading of Chris McCandless and his travels, I wrote a long poem for a literary journal, "Gone", which is reprinted to this day, and when asked, I always explain where Chris McCandless comes into it. I have received some feedback, then, from fans and defenders of this young man, and before I comment on the movie, I have to say this: I am a great admirer of Chris', although, somewhere, somehow, some way, I wonder whether he could have did things differently, to insure his safety and to spare his family the grief and loss they have gone through since his death. I will never bad-mouth anybody who goes in search of their dreams, their reason and their vision, and if more of us in this world did stay true to ourselves, and believe that what we want for ourselves is right and true, critics be damned, I think that we'd be a much happier lot, and not so inclined to be flipping each other off on the freeway or hating our neighbors for parking in our spaces. But - I lost a friend that wasn't found, much like Chris, for weeks, and it was one of the most gut-wrenching, heartbreaking situations I have ever experienced. To lay awake and wonder where somebody is, whether they are safe, whether they are thinking of you - it's a killer. And so, I just really want to stress: I think that Chris was somewhat a misguided angel, and he doesn't deserve the ridicule and negativity sent his way. But I also think that his situation should be used as a touchstone for anybody else thinking of trying something like this - think, plan, take supplies with you. And this is coming from a mother: Call home if you can, let somebody know that the trip is going all right and that you're a big boy/girl, now, and everyone needs to chill out.I more than openly write about my background and am known for stating that my parents shouldn't have raised corn, much less kids, but even they, IMO, deserved to know what was going on. I'm telling you, nobody should end up hurting like the survivors always end up hurting. Ok, the movie. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, from the writing and direction, to acting to the photography. Sean Penn has created a masterpiece with this film, and it's obvious that he loves the subject of the movie, Chris McCandless, as much as Chris' supporters continue to do. The movie respects the book by Jon Krakauer - the characters are more fleshed out in the film than the book, but it works here. Some movies should stay unflinchingly true to the book that came before them, but Penn wisely brought to life Chris' family, their moments of comprehension of Chris (granted, very few, it seems, other than for the loyalty shown to Chris by his sister), hangups, warts and all. I especially have more compassion for his parents after watching the movie than I did while reading the book (again, everybody is a jerk in some way, I'm a jerk more often than I care to admit); I think that it's important that the film showed the 'other side' of the story, because if you only read the book, it's pretty easy to make a pretty harsh call about a couple of Chris' family members. William Hurt brings humanity to be a very unlikable individual, and Marcia Gay Harden, as Chris' mother, is shown to have layers to her personality that Chris, being young and disillusioned, may not have caught. Again, I may personalize this movie more than I should when it comes to some facts in the McCandless family as related to my own life (the scenes of Chris' sister Carine, and the over voice narration by the actress portraying her are shattering to me, as my own brother died at 20, and I continue to think many of the thoughts Carine offers), but this is that kind of movie. You're going to see it because you can identify with the Chris character, and you long to walk off into anonymity and self-survival/preservation, or you're going to see it because you've had something even close to it touch your own life, and you want to see how others handle the loss, heartache and uncertainty. It actually is a film where the actors could have been swallowed up by the people they are portraying, and so it says something that Emile Hirsche is astonishing as Chris, William Hurt brings more to his role as Chris' father than just our wanting to blame him for everything that would come about, and, as I said, I really, really liked the actress Jena Malone as the movie's narrator/Chris' sister. Hal Holbrook had the misfortune to be nominated for an Oscar the same year the late Heath Ledger rightfully won for his portrayal as The Joker; any other year, I think that Hal would have taken it for his turn as the old man, Ron, whom Chris tries to urge back to Life, to Experience. Vince Vaughn is great for his few scenes - as I said, the movie, IMO, is flawless. The music by We're-Not-Worthy Eddie Vedder is fantastic. In closing, this movie, and the young man whom inspired it, will continue to be argued and disputed for some time to come. I think that if you want to watch it, you should, and if you think people like Chris McCandless should be eyed with the same skepticism as ghosts and UFOs, then you should steer clear. But don't trash a dead man because he followed his dreams - like I said, maybe more of us should be that true to ourselves. I loved the movie and the book, and I admire the man for trying to do what he felt he had to do.

Into the Wild [Blu-ray] Overview

This is the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch). Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, McCandless instead walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people -- a fearless risk-taker who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature.

Into the Wild [Blu-ray] Specifications

A superb cast and an even-handed treatment of a true story buoy Into the Wild, Sean Penn's screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer's bestselling book. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, scion of a prosperous but troubled family who, after graduating from Atlanta's Emory University in the early 1990s, decides to chuck it all and become a self-styled "aesthetic voyager" in search of "ultimate freedom." He certainly doesn't do it halfway: after donating his substantial savings account to charity and literally torching the rest of his cash, McCandless changes his name (to "Alexander Supertramp"), abandons his family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as his bickering, clueless parents and Jena Malone as his baffled but loving sister, who relates much of the backstory in voice-over), and hits the road, bound for the Alaskan bush and determined not to be found. For the next two years he lives the life of a vagabond, working a few odd jobs, kayaking through the Grand Canyon into Mexico, landing on L.A.'s Skid Row, and turning his back on everyone who tried to befriends him (including Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as two kindly, middle-aged hippies and Hal Holbrook in a deeply affecting performance as an old widower who tries to take "Alex" under his wing). Penn, who directed and wrote the screenplay, alternates these interludes with scenes depicting McCandless' Alaskan idyll--which soon turns out be not so idyllic after all. Settling into an abandoned school bus, he manages to sustain himself for a while, shooting small game (and one very large moose), reading, and recording his existential musings on paper. But when the harsh realities of life in the wilderness set in, our boy finds himself well out of his depth, not just ill-prepared for the rigors of day to day survival but realizing the importance of the very thing he wanted to escape--namely, human relationships. It'd be easy to either idealize McCandless as a genuinely free spirit, unencumbered by the societal strictures that tie the rest of us down, or else dismiss him as a hopelessly callow naïf, a fool whose disdain for practical realities ultimately doomed him. Into the Wild does neither, for the most part telling the tale with an admirable lack of cheap sentiment and leaving us to decide for ourselves. --Sam Graham

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