Into the Wild [dir. Sean Penn]

2007, 140 minutes
w/ Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener & Marcia Gay Harden
[Sidenote: what a weekend to see two excellent adaptations of books I'd read beforehand! Sean Penn may not have been the go-to guy to direct this project; I probably would have pre-ordered it by now had Werner Herzog been helming -- but Penn has undoubtedly turned in one of the finest visual and overall film efforts of the year thus far. While it was probably easier having read Jon Krakauer's novel, Penn's script fluidly flips between Christopher McCandless' episodic trip and his final, fatal Alaskan adventure. His direction is incredibly confident despite still being a young director and taking on the most epic project of his career. There are only a handful of young actors talented enough for the role of McCandless, and Emile Hirsch is possibly the only one with the looks to play the role. And he plays it magnificently, performing both serious "I read poetry" musing scenes and happy-go-lucky comic material with startling ease. I think I'll be expecting an Oscar nomination for him after seeing everything left to come. Anyway, the story goes like this: intelligent college graduate with a bright future ditches his savings account and family to become a rugged individualist for the summer and ultimately the rest of his life. Why? Penn gives reason for McCandless' spontaneous nature throughout, including a disgust for the corporate world and his father's spousal abuse while growing up. The cross country (and also, Mexico) trip sees McCandless meeting and befriending countless colorful characters, all played beautifully by the actors. The always lovely Catherine Keener and amateur actor Brian Dierker effortlessly play a hippie couple who help guide Christopher. Vince Vaughn makes the most of his pretty funny material as a grain farmer who hires and befriends him early in his journey. Kristen Stewart reminds me that she's pretty damn talented for being just 18-years old as a brief love interest of his despite playing a 15-year old [don't worry, McCandless is no pedo]. The most touching and impressive supporting performance, though, comes from Hal Holbrook (Deep Throat!) as a lonely, retired old man who takes McCandless in for a brief time right before his Alaskan trip and, in a brilliantly emotional scene, asks to adopt him. I've already gone too far and won't describe Alaska specifically but will mention it contains some of Hirsch's best acting and some absolutely beautiful cinematography from Eric Gautier. It would have been nice to hear Penn take a bit of a stance on the McCandless character's choices, as the novel did, but I understand that it probably wasn't completely easy to even include the domestic violence scenes with the real McCandless' permission. Props also due to the Eddie Veddar driven soundtrack that helps pace the 140 minutes picture.]

****

EDIT: ***1/4