Into the Wild Movie Review

Into the Wild (2007)

Rent Into the Wild on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link) 
Written by: Sean Penn (screenplay), Jon Krakauer (book)
Directed by: Sean Penn
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Zach Galifianakis
Rated: R
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Plot
After graduating from Emory University, Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

Verdict
Chris doesn't fit in society. He rejects the rules and assumptions, deciding to live as a nomad. All of us have felt some level of rebellion, but few of us sell off everything and completely reject society. His plight is comprised of Chris rejecting his parents, his overconfidence born of youth, and  a desire to see the world. His story is both cautionary and encouraging. While I'm not moved to sell all I have and wander, it does make me question society's unspoken rules that I blindly follow.
Watch It.

Review
The first time i watched this was right after I watched Easy Rider. I was struck by the similarities: movies about outcasts that just don't fit into normal society. They can't conform to expectations. I never would have put these movies together if I hadn't seen them in succession, but now whenever I think of one I think of the other.

Chris (Emile Hirsch) hitchhikes into the Yukon and then walks "into the wild." He wants to live off the land. It's never clear why. Is it to prove to himself or others he's capable? Is he just tired of society's rules? He fortunately finds an abandoned bus that he fashions into a camp. His desire may be fueled by a desire for freedom. There are no rules in the wilderness, just survival.

Emile Hirsch plays Christopher McCandless

This rewinds to when Chris graduated college. He's not interested in perception and expectations. While he's talking to his parents about Harvard law, we can guess he's just telling them what they want to hear. That buys him time to enact his plan which feels like a rebellion, youth acting out against the system. Maybe the world needs more people like that, but people that try to escape are usually pulled back in due to responsibility. Most of us accept the world as it is. Part of his disdain for the system is his parents. They're hypocrites that lie to their children about the past in a desire to conform.

It's difficult to fathom why someone would choose the life of a nomad, but you have to respect someone that abandons what's safe. This story becomes more powerful because it's true. His difficult existence in the wild is punctuated with better times en route. That adds to the emotion of his ultimate conclusion. Humans need companionship, and he was helped along the way. Whether Chris went to the Yukon to prove something to himself, his parents, or the world, we'll never truly know. I expect it was a combination of all three. Everyone has an instinct to rebel on some level.

Emile Hirsch plays Christopher McCandless

Chris rejects a system of control, but he was also young and arrogant; over-confidant in his abilities. Before he reaches the Yukon he paddles down the Colorado river, ignoring advice and laws. I understand he's impatient to explore, but those laws are for safety. Chris doesn't know more, he just got lucky and survived. His story easily could have ended on the river. He doesn't do much planning. He undertakes the adventure because he wants to and doesn't realize how many times he gets lucky. With the spring and thaw, food becomes scarce. Desperation forces him into making a mistake, eating a poisonous plant.

It's a sad story in one sense, but Chris died living a life he chose not a life anyone pushed or forced him into. He lived on his own terms. Should anyone follow his path, striking out on an adventure with no planning or training? No. Chris's reaction to status quo is extreme. There are many small rebellions a person can make that don't involve selling everything you own and wandering the country, but some people just don't fit in society.