Emile Hirsch plays Christopher McCandless, a successful University graduate who decides the career rat race is not for him. He abandons his family and gives all his savings to charity and becomes Alexander Supertramp, trekking to Alaska to be at one with nature and live off the land. Into the Wild is a film in the same category as Wendy and Lucy (2008) and 127 Hours (2010), films that make you want to be more spontaneous and daring in life, they make you want to get up, leave everything and go. But what are the consequences of such actions? Wendy has to give up Lucy and we never find out what happens to her or if she even makes it to Alaska and Aron has to cut off his own arm to survive. So what are the consequences for Alexander Supertramp/Chris McCandless? This is based on a true story, like 127 Hours, but is described as tragic; giving the ending away to the viewer. This disclosure does not affect the enjoyment of watching Chris on his journey, meeting people who assist him in his new perspective on life and develop into the person he wants to be.
There are plenty of profound moments and screenwriter and director Sean Penn keeps the 148 minutes interesting by employing techniques such as split screens, slow motion, speeding up, photo montages and excerpts of Alexander Supertramp’s diary scrawled across the screen. The film is divided into chapters that revolve around the significant ‘magic bus’ and most of the film is in non-linear flashbacks which allow the viewer to piece together the events leading to the tragic end. I felt that the end was not as tragic as expected, it was rather undramatic and the extreme selfishness of the character meant I did not empathise with the predicament he gets himself into. The big flaw for me in this story is the fact that I don’t think I actually liked the character enough to care but at the same time his selfishness adds a very interesting element to what could be a rather routine coming of age drama.
Emile Hirsch does a superb job as the main protagonist and is reminiscent of a young Leo DiCaprio. The other characters that Alex encounters along the way are what make this film, Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker are brilliant as a pair of hippies who become fond of Alex. There are poignant moments too, one that stood out for me was when an old man asks Alex to be his adopted grandson as he has no family left to carry on the line. Into the Wild shows how nice people can be and the story becomes less about Alex and more about humanity. The sister’s narration throughout adds another perspective to the story and there are flashbacks to family incidents and the violence of the father that are perhaps there as an explanation of Chris’ abandonment of his family.
Another character worth mentioning is nature itself, which is allowed to just merely exist within the film, no extra drama is added. The landscape of North America is beautifully depicted and seduces the viewer just as it did Chris. The film is rather romanticised and feels very Hollywood, if this had been British imagine the grim realism that would have been depicted. Despite its flaws Into the Wild is an interesting piece and I was fascinated throughout, even though it is a long film. It is not often I have so much to say about a film, showing that this is definitely a film worth watching. It may not be a favourite but there is a lot of depth and food for thought.
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