16 February 2009

Into The Wild

Into The Wild is a 2007 Senn Penn film passed onto me by one of my friends about 5 months ago. It is not one that I knew anything about before watching and so I had absolutely no preconceptions when I watched it, usualy makes for a more interesting watch!

The film is based on a true story about a successful university graduate who is sick of the world in which he lives and the people who inhabit it. In a desperate attempt to get away from it all he sells all of his possessions, gives all of his savings to charity and sets off on a journey not to be forgotten. His final destination? Alaska.

The film is directed by Senn Penn who makes great use of the hugely varied natural landscape of America from the desert to snow capped mountains. Penn also gets a great performance from the self assuered Chris Mc Candleness played by Emile Hirtsch (lordz of dogtown, Milk) it is his story we follow with a helpnig hand from his sister played by Jena Malone (donnie darko). Chris' intelligene, his love for life and desire for a better world are the substance of the film and his interactions with the supporting cast the tool with which we see the world and Chris' own faults, his blind arrogance and his rejection of his family and society. With all of the relationships that he forms on the way his youthfulness forces him to ignore the truth that these expericence are what makes life enjoyable and exciting. Despite his desire to be rid of society it is his interaction with those people he meets which mae the journey so enjoyable and interesting for Chris and the other people he meets.

There are some excellent scenes but some are slightly strange and I would really like to know what happened to Vince Vaughans character as I completely missed that. The real draw of the film is the sense of adventure you get from Chris' story and the longing that his sister feels about not being with him. When you finish watching it you definately feel like going away for a while.

8/10
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