Into the Wild - Film Review
Friday, November 9, 2007 at 08:55AM 
Sometimes I am a total dickhead.
How many times are there films you put off watching because there are no big monsters, zombies or superheros in it? Well for me fuck loads and finally when I have watched all the available Hollywood shit and I am about ready to take a drill to my face I'll put on one of these neglected films.
So last night I watched Into the Wild, the Sean Penn directed journey of self discovery. The true story of some crazy bastard Chris McCandless as he graduates and rejects the plan of modern society and his parents wish for him to Study Law at Harvard to live off the land. The story cuts between his journey to his ultimate destination of Alaska via Mexico with the time he spends in Alaska.
The story also cuts with the pain of his family who are unaware of his nomadic existence narrated through the voice of his sister. As the story unfolds it is a childhood dogged with parental rows, violence and his fuckhead fathers success which turns Chris against them and the world.
Though he earns money on his journey he his ultimately more happy when he has none. On departing he donates his $24k college fund to Oxfam and then burns his last few hundred dollars when his car gets trapped.
The sadness of the story is that his Alaskan goal is where he claims he will be happiest, alone, but his happiest moments in the film are with the human connections he makes, from the hippy couple whose relationship he mends, to the old widower who he helps move away from a lonely final act. These people on the journey can't help but love him, the hippy wife can't hug him goodbye and the old man wants to adopt him.
In the final act he comes to the ultimate realisation that the best things in life are shared and this is where ultimate happiness comes from. As Chris passes away he does so at a stage when he is trapped in his paradise, as the old man said 'Once you forgive you find love, and once you love Gods light shines upon you'.
The film is littered with poignant moments which shape the film like when maggots infest his big game and he records this in his diary as his biggest disappointment in life or when he finally considers making a call to his family but gives his last quarter to an old man who has run out of money for his call.
Emile Hirsch gets the role so perfect it is almost as if he is playing himself. Penn is a fucking genius and he has here delivered a fucking stunning emotional journey.
Fucking brilliant out of 5
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Other reviews of Into The Wild
Rotten Tomotoes Into The Wild Review
Channel 4 Into The Wild Review
Timeout Into The Wild Review
Empire Online Into The Wild Review
Total Film Into The Wild Review
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Other links for Into The Wild
Into The Wild official website
Into The Wild IMBD page
Into The Wild Wikipedia page
Sean Penn IMDB page
Sean Penn Wikipedia page
Emile Hirsch IMDB page
Emile Hirsch official site
Chris McCandless Wikipedia page