INTO THE WILD
Directed by Sean Penn
Starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, and Hal Holbrook
“Into the Wild” is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, a recent college graduate who abandons is family and possessions and pursues life on the road leading him from Baja, California to South Dakota and eventually to the Alaskan wilderness. This is the third movie written and directed by Sean Penn and in it he shows that he is more than just an A+ actor. The screenplay is masterful—Full of nuance and wonderfully written characters. It's a shame that this screenplay wasn't nominated for an Oscar. The portrait of McCandless that he wrote was remarkedly multi-faceted and entirely human. Why did Christopher decide to abandon everything he knew? Was it that he posessed a wisdom well beyond his years and had realized the key to happiness? Or was he just trying to get back at his parents for years of mental and spiritual abuse? This movie paints a blur, portraying Christoper alternately as pseudo-messiah and selfish 20-something. Emile Hirsch, as Christoper, brings a full performance, which I'm sure must have been a runner-up for an Oscar nomination. If he keeps making movies like this, I'm sure a little, golden statue is in his future.
It's rare to find a movie where every character in a large supporting cast is so well portrayed. Truly, the team of actors who make up the supporting cast are this movie's greatest strength. Christoper's journey to find himself and find true happiness could have easily been cut short if he had listened to the advice given to him by all of these people he met on his way to Alaska. Boil this movie down to it's bare essentials and you'll find an old adage: No man is an island. Everyone tries to tell him this, but he refuses to listen, and by the time he figures it out for himself his life has irreversibly turned tragic.
This movie received two Oscar nominations. One was for Best Supporting Actor, for Hal Holbrook who played Ron Franz, an old man who tries to give the benefit of his years of experience to Christopher. Holbrook will lead you to tears. His is a performance of the highest class—Full of real emotion and pathos. The Oscar went to Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”. Also nominated were Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson's War”, and Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton.”
The other nomination was for Editing. The editing in this movie was outstanding. It really helped build the tension and reveal the story wonderfully. The Oscar went to “The Bourne Ultimatum”. Other nominees were “No Country for Old Men”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, and “There Will be Blood”.
This review was written on April 19, 2008
Directed by Sean Penn
Starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, and Hal Holbrook
“Into the Wild” is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, a recent college graduate who abandons is family and possessions and pursues life on the road leading him from Baja, California to South Dakota and eventually to the Alaskan wilderness. This is the third movie written and directed by Sean Penn and in it he shows that he is more than just an A+ actor. The screenplay is masterful—Full of nuance and wonderfully written characters. It's a shame that this screenplay wasn't nominated for an Oscar. The portrait of McCandless that he wrote was remarkedly multi-faceted and entirely human. Why did Christopher decide to abandon everything he knew? Was it that he posessed a wisdom well beyond his years and had realized the key to happiness? Or was he just trying to get back at his parents for years of mental and spiritual abuse? This movie paints a blur, portraying Christoper alternately as pseudo-messiah and selfish 20-something. Emile Hirsch, as Christoper, brings a full performance, which I'm sure must have been a runner-up for an Oscar nomination. If he keeps making movies like this, I'm sure a little, golden statue is in his future.
It's rare to find a movie where every character in a large supporting cast is so well portrayed. Truly, the team of actors who make up the supporting cast are this movie's greatest strength. Christoper's journey to find himself and find true happiness could have easily been cut short if he had listened to the advice given to him by all of these people he met on his way to Alaska. Boil this movie down to it's bare essentials and you'll find an old adage: No man is an island. Everyone tries to tell him this, but he refuses to listen, and by the time he figures it out for himself his life has irreversibly turned tragic.
This movie received two Oscar nominations. One was for Best Supporting Actor, for Hal Holbrook who played Ron Franz, an old man who tries to give the benefit of his years of experience to Christopher. Holbrook will lead you to tears. His is a performance of the highest class—Full of real emotion and pathos. The Oscar went to Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”. Also nominated were Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson's War”, and Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton.”
The other nomination was for Editing. The editing in this movie was outstanding. It really helped build the tension and reveal the story wonderfully. The Oscar went to “The Bourne Ultimatum”. Other nominees were “No Country for Old Men”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, and “There Will be Blood”.
This review was written on April 19, 2008
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