Into the Wild (2007)

Director:

Sean Penn

Writers (WGA):

Sean Penn (screenplay)
Jon Krakauer (book)

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Your great adventure on Alaska.

Plot:

After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.

Plot Keywords:

Chest Hair | Salton Sea | Barechested | Bear | Shirtless Male

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Emile Hirsch	...	Chris McCandless
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Billie McCandless
William Hurt	...	Walt McCandless
Jena Malone	...	Carine McCandless / Additional Narrator
Brian H. Dierker	...	Rainey (as Brian Dierker)
Catherine Keener	...	Jan Burres
Vince Vaughn	...	Wayne Westerberg
Kristen Stewart	...	Tracy Tatro
Hal Holbrook	...	Ron Franz
Jim Gallien	...	Himself
James O'Neill	...	Graduation Reader (as James J. O'Neill)
Malinda McCollum	...	Waitress
Paul Knauls	...	Building Manager
Zach Galifianakis	...	Kevin
Craig Mutsch	...	Wayne's Crew #1

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some nudity.

Runtime:

148 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Danish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:15 | South Africa:13L | Brazil:12 | Netherlands:12 | USA:R | Denmark:11 | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | Austria:10 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | France:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Company:

Paramount Vantage

Trivia:

The production made four separate trips to Alaska in order to film during different seasons.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Multiple vehicles in the highway and city scenes were models that were unavailable in the early '90's.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Christopher McCandless: Mom! Mom! Help me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Doing the Wrong Thing

2008's Version of On the Road?

Who Is Chris McCandless? A true supertramp? An obsessive, emotionally damaged egomaniac? Suicidal thrill-seeker? A Kerouac-like drifter addicted to the search for an ever-evasive truth? A high-functioning schizophrenic? The 21st century youth culture reincarnation of John Gault? Or just a kid going through a difficult time and looking for some distance to sort it all out? Sean Penn's pop-philosophical examination of this young man's voyage across America, to Alaska, and to the depths of his young soul will give you an interpretation at least. While it is not clear exactly whose interpretation we are seeing, it is very clear that Penn respects his subject and gave this film about as much thought and power as he could inject it with. And the film did remind me of something very true about the self-righteous naiveté of youth.

I am not concerned at all with the accuracy of the film, and, while it is tempting to compare this film to Werner Herzog's excellent but less fictionalized "Grizzly Man", the subjects are really too widely disparate; Herzog and Penn's perspective on humanity is too different to produce a meaningful comparison. The targets of this comparison, too big and too easy. But I will make one comment about the two films - Penn's film is much more or a tribute to its protagonist than Herzog's.

I found Into the Wild to be a gripping, thoughtful film. The script was good, but sometimes a bit pretentious. The script occasionally crosses the line between character development and character worship. Penn's direction and cinematography are masterful. The acting - every member of the cast included - is absolutely excellent.

Recommended - but not for light cheerful entertainment.