Into the Wild (2007)
Movies should not be predicated on first having to read a book. In this particular instance, unless you have read the book, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer or at least the 1993 article Death of an Innocent in Outside magazine (which prompted the book), then you will be at a complete loss to understand this movie.
This is the story of the real life tragic events surrounding a 24-year old man named Christopher McCandless who walked into the Alaska wilderness to escape whatever demons he hid from family and friends, and there he died -- alone and starving.
Having just graduated from Emory University, McCandless wrote a check for $24,000, which was the balance he had in the bank for his college tutition, to OXFAM, a famine relief organization, and packed up his belongings and hit the road without telling a sole. This movie tells of some of the people he encountered along the way. After abandoning his car in Arizona, he began hitchiking. Eventually he decided that living in the wilds of Alaska seemed like the thing to do. Then, having hitchhiked his way to Alaska, McCandless wrote a message to his friend Wayne Westerberg. It came on a post card that read:
Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don't ever hear from me again, I want you to know your a great man. I now walk into the wild.
-Alex
The movie skips relevant portions of the post card like "if this adventure proves fatal ..." which would have given movie go'ers a better idea of the frame of mind of McCandless. He obviously knew there was some risk involved, yet when he was offered better supplies, he refused them. A death wish? Who knows? Instead, the movie portrays McCandless as some kind of modern day Jesus, roaming the Earth and enlightening others.
Quite simply put, McCandless was wholly unprepared for the wilderness, Alaska or otherwise. More than one person told him so and tried to talk him out of it but he just wouldn't listen. His life should not be celebrated or glamorized but rather it should be a stark reminder that human life is fragile and that nature, while a mistress to many, does not forgive the mistakes of mortal man. There are no re-do's in nature. No second chances.
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The Blurb Meister's personal note: The soundtrack is the only thing saving this movie from collapsing in on itself. The baritone voice of
Eddie Vedder (of
Pearl Jam fame) brings a sense of
purpose to the story being told, something the movie couldn't do on its own.
Title: Into the Wild
Released: 2007
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography
Rated: (language and brief nudity)
Director: Sean Penn
Producer: Sean Penn, Art Linson, William Pohlad
Cast: Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden
Our Review: 1 Movie Reel (5 being best)
The Blurb Meister™ says: "Stupid bastard."
