Into the Wild

Review By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

I really, really wish I had seen this film when it was in theaters. The worst part about missing out on what the critics call the ‘best movies of the year,’ is that between the time of this declaration (and yes, I realize we make them too) and the time you eventually see the film on DVD you’ve already seen a million and one spoofs based on them. Between late night talk shows and the Oscars themselves, I had seen every parody imaginable of this film before I saw the genuine article and that definitely sullied the final experience for me.

But, I’ve learned this lesson for the last time! This year no matter how busy things get here at the good ol TheCinemaSource.com, I am going to go to every screening possible so that this does not happen again!

All of that being said I did very much enjoy Into the Wild and I can see why so many people praised it for it’s bold story and sweeping scale visually and of course there’s no question that Emile Hirsch is an incredibly talented young actor. Then again I’ve known that since The Mudge Boy – the kid has chops, no doubt, but this film just furthers proves the point that type casting is not something he needs to be concerned with. Emile is one of the few actors out there that truly has chameleon like abilities and that he can emotionally fit almost any role presented him.

He also has the most obvious lack of vanity that you'll ever find in a young Hollywood actor; which of course is really surprising. In some of the more physical scenes in this film you can tell that how ridiculous he was going to look in the final print didn’t even enter his head. When he’s jumping off of mountains or braving the rapids his expressions are very honest. Not at all an actor waiting for his glamour shot.

Now, for anyone even further behind the curve than I, Into the Wild is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless a young man who after graduating college decides to abandon all material possessions and head out ‘into the wild’ in an attempt to commune with nature and examine the truth of his existence. He sets out on this very solitary journey but along the way meets many different people who significantly impact his life and who ultimately reveal more to him about ‘human’ nature than about nature itself. From the wheat farmer with some extra-legal affairs going on the side played by Vince Vaughn to the hippie couple in the love van played by Catherine Keener and Brian H. Dierker and probably the most impactful of all, an elderly man who has lost his entire family and has cut himself off from living until the ...