Into the Wild chronicles the journey taken by Christopher McCandless. He was a young man who, upon graduating from Emory College in 1990 rebelled against his family and the capitalist, materialistic society. He chose to remove himself from society, lest he be caught up in it and have his life spoiled by it. To that end, he donates his life savings to charity, drives his car as far west as it will go, burn his money and identification and head off into the wilderness.
The most notable is Hal Holbrook's Ron Franz stands out the most. The elderly war vet sees something in the young man. During the short time they spend together he comes to look on McCandless as the son he never had. It is the most emotionally touching and involving sequence of the film. Holbrook truly left a mark on the journey.
To its credit, the film is very well made. It takes its time to get from point A to point B. It has a nice, meandering pace that allows us to linger on some of the beauty that the country has to offer. It is different than your standard Hollywood fare which is always about how fast to the next plot point or set piece. To help drive that home, the cinematography by Eric Gautier is quite striking, providing yet another example of how strong 2007 was in the realm of cinematography.
Even Eddie Vedder's collaborations with Kaki King and Michael Brook provide some good music. Although, it is not the same Vedder I remember from the early Pearl Jam days. The music is quite fitting to the tone and pace of the film.
For all the good that Into the Wild has to offer, I am sure you are wondering why I don't like it. Well, it has to do with Christopher McCandless himself. I mean no disrespect for the dead, I am sorry that what happened to him happened, but the thing of it is it did not have to happen. I get the feeling that his desire to flee materialistic society and rebel against his family were just a smokescreen covering up some mental problems. There are other ways to rebel rather than heading off, unprepared (no matter how many books he had, he was not prepared for what was to come) into the wilds of the north.
I have to believe that there was a better way for him to deal with his society issues, with his father problems, and whatever else he felt, or thinks he felt, about society. Instead, he chose a rather selfish route that eventually led to his death and irreparable harm to his family. I liken him to Timothy Treadwell, another man who was not prepared for what he was getting himself into, likely suffered from mental problems and eventually paid for his actions with his life.
Bottomline. It is a nicely crafted film, however it seeks to make a statement about society that rings hollow and canonizes a young man who went about his revolution the wrong way. Do I have the answer? No. He would probably see me as part of the "problem." Be that as it may, he went off into the wild, ill prepared to handle what was there and eventually paid the ultimate price.
Not Recommended.
1 comments:
McCandless's story is tragic, but then so many people have benefited from hearing it... a couple of years of hitchhiking led to his story challenging thousands (millions?) of people to reexamine their lives
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