Nauseating
- Into the Wild review by Tim from London
I was very disappointed with this (very long and plodding)film about a young gifted boy who breaks all ties with his family to venture into Alaska. This is not however a journey to 'find himself' - as this 23 year old is completelly self-aware and able to pass on his knowledge and wisdom to all the grown ups he meets on his way. As you can probably tell, I felt that the film fell into the trap of idealising the boy and his motives. Yes, we are shown some of the consequences of his actions on his parents - but we are firmly told that they are bad people who probably deserved it. This is not helped by a tedious voice over - full of cliches dressed up as art. The film clearly saw Christopher as being 'a symbol of countless young people' - I thought it presented a very good argument in favour of national service!
4 out of 13 members found this review helpful.
Haunting, moving, though not entirely accurate.
- Into the Wild review by CP Customer
Based on the book by Jon Krakauer, Into The Wild tells the story of Christopher McCandless, a middle class 22 year old, who after graduation from college gives away the remaining $24,000 of his college fund to charity, destroys all forms of identification and heads off on a quest to live in the Alaskan wilderness, along the way camping outdoors and living off the land. One thing I did feel uncomfortable with is that the film is pretty selective on what speculative information is depicted as true events and what known events they selectively chose to ignore. The book is very much based on third party accounts of McCandless life and McCandless’s journal of abbreviated notes, which has been updated by the author many times due to repeated criticism of Krakauer’s disregard of factual events and the authors’ speculation of unknown events. Sean Penn’s film shows Christopher McCandless as naive, focussed, sometimes selfish but overall in a fairly good light. When in truth McCandless was often described by others as reckless, arrogant and lacking any common sense. Despite the criticism of being slightly one sided and selective of actual events, this is a very good film, with stunning cinematography and first rate performances from the whole cast. Be warned, this is quite a slow paced film which feels every minute of its two and half hour running time, however it does hold your attention throughout. If it ever gets a DVD release you should also check out the 2006 documentary ‘Call Of The Wild’ in which filmmaker Ron Lamothe retraces McCandless’s exact journey through 30 states and interviews those who came into contact with him.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
into the wild
- Into the Wild review by CP Customer
very interesting film,story well told very well acted,not downbeat,involving characters,nice to see a film with reality and some genuine Real 'nice' people,rather than 'downers' and 'sinners'
the actor we all know,notby name nessecarily,
hal holbrook, richly deserved his best supporting actor acadamy award.
good watch well recomended and if a touch long,never misses to keep you interested,great photography,wish I seen a high def version.
well handled and richly entertaining.
4 out of 6 members found this review helpful.
Pretentious tale about the not-very-interesting travels of a poor little rich kid
- Into the Wild review by RP
Not my usual kind of film, but I rented it after seeing its high rating on IMDB – currently (April 2012) it has a score of 8.2. While I liked the photography and (some of) the Eddie Vedder soundtrack, I found it to be a over-long (2 hours 20 min) pretentious tale about the not-very-interesting travels of a poor little rich kid, who meets an assortment of well meaning but not-very-interesting characters while travelling round the US. He then ventures ill-prepared into the Alaskan wilderness and dies of starvation / poisoning while camping in an abandoned bus. It is based on the true story of Chris McCandless who graduates from college, spurns his parents (never communicating with them again), gives his money to charity, and embarks on lengthy travels like a latter day Jack Kerouac. Whatever his motives may have been, I found the film and the device of narration by his sister to be irritating beyond measure. Yes, I know many people like the film and it has won awards – but it's not for me. 3/5 stars –average at best.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Earnest, Beautifully Shot and Heartfelt
- Into the Wild review by griggs
Earnest, beautifully shot and heartfelt, Into the Wild captures the allure of escape but sometimes feels too self-serious for its own good, leaning on self-mythologising. Emile Hirsch gives it his all, but Penn’s direction sometimes drifts into ponderous territory, allowing the film to meander more than it inspires. Still, it undeniably affecting places.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Long and slow
- Into the Wild review by CP Customer
OK - slow and long, with some good photography.
Difficult to know what was fact and what fiction, not sure the message if there was one came across.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Into the Wild ... grace, power and truth.
- Into the Wild review by CP Customer
Into the Wild is an astonishing film. Since first reading that Sean Penn was planning it, I'd been keen to see it. A story about walking your own road, challenging received wisdoms and taking risks to live authentically seemed to have found the perfect director and screenwriter. Penn's enormous talent for depth, grace and truth just keep going from strength to strength.
This true story is extremely moving. Easily the best film I've seen this year, by a mile. It's beautiful in many ways. The way the landscape is cherished and photographed brings Brokeback Mountain to mind. The characters are written astutely but gently with grace and compassion and perfectly cast. The music is just gorgeous.
The brother/sister relationship is handled with a very light touch, honouring what was clearly a strong bond between two allies coping with some harsh truths.
Towards the end, during the quietly affecting scenes with Hal Holbrook, it struck me that Into the Wild makes a good companion piece for David Lynch's The Straight Story.
Into the Wild is clearly one of those films that is worth seeing several times. Magnificent.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
A thinker
- Into the Wild review by CP Customer
Thought provoking, touching and original, if a tad slow. Enjoyed it.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Some good filmmaking cannot disguise the stupidity & naivety of its real-life protagonist (spoilers)
- Into the Wild review by Timmy B
Chris McCandless is a young man who, when we first meet him, is graduating from university. He is an extremely clever, erudite & motivated man who is also totally disillusioned with pretty much every element of life in general. Despite the offer of a place at Harvard to study law, he decides, no doubt heavily influenced by the multiple classic novels he has read, to sell all of his possessions, break off contact with his family and live off the land. And the eventual goal, which he repeatedly refers to, is to trek to/survive in the extremes of Alaska. The film looks at not only his travels, but the key life events that shaped him.
First, the good stuff. It is no surprise that Sean Penn is an incredible director in terms of the way he builds characters, shoots locations (there is amazing cinematography) and sets scenes. Even characters who we only meet for a few minutes make an impression. The soundtrack by Eddie Vedder also perfectly compliments the film. In terms of actors, whether it is seasoned pros like Catherine Keener or Hal Holbrook, the scenes they are in elevate the material. But that's pretty much where the good stuff ends...
The biggest issue I had with this film was the total, almost sycophantic reverence it has towards McCandless, in pretty much every element of his actions. It starts off questionably, with McCandless at first emptying his bank account to a charity to "feed the poor" (which is of course a noble thing to do & actually someone actively trying to make a difference,) but then a couple of scenes later shows him burning the rest of the money he is carrying with glee. And his actions just become slowly more idiotic & vomit-inducing as the film goes on.
This is a man who, despite being genuinely intelligent, seems to have almost zero common sense, especially when he gets out into the Alaskan wilderness. His preparation for surviving (let alone attempting to live,) in one of the most inhospitable US states, is to read a book on what type of plants can be eaten, buying some extremely basic camping equipment and begrudgingly accepting supplies gifted to him by people who look on with a mixture of bewilderment & horror at the situation he is charging head-first into.
And at one point in the film, I remembered that when recruits go through military selection, their training on living out in the wild lasts for months with proper equipment & highly experienced soldiers supporting them... McCandless did absolutely none of this. What he did instead, which the movie romanticises, was to have this obstinate, uncompromising utopian fantasy that as soon as he got out into the wilderness and left every single element of modern life behind, things would be perfect...
But instead, despite some good experiences he had, he not only made his life needlessly difficult, but in the words of one of the park rangers "He didn't even have a proper map of the area. Essentially, he committed suicide..." In metaphorical terms, it is like watching someone in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean throwing all their supplies/food overboard, then drilling holes in the hull with a gleeful smile on their face, whilst the filmmakers look on with reverence and awe.
By the end of the film, which inevitably was only going to end one way, I felt zero sympathy for Chris McCandless, as well as significant contempt. This was a man who the film repeatedly held up as some kind of inspirational sage & adventurer, but in reality was simply someone locked into a utopian delusion which rejected anything which didn't conform to this rigid ideology. And that last sentence is what makes the whole thing so stupid: if he had thrown himself with as much determination into proper military-style training, listened to advice, laid out a workable plan & got the right equipment, he could probably have lived out his fantasy with some success.
Instead, his stupidity cost him his life...
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
