Okay, Molly -- You win.

Into the Wild
Paramount

As an high school English teacher, you get involved with literacy and trying to encourage students to read more frequently. The school at which I teach has a literacy team that plans a schedule of books and book talks throughout the year. This year, Into the Wild was one of those selections. I tried to read it, but lack of free time and a slight aversion to nonfiction prevented me from actually finishing it...I'm just not a fan of books that speculate about "what probably happened." I hated The Perfect Storm, a book that's approximately 300 pgs long, in which the main characters die at about 150pgs. Anyway, Jon Krakauer's book was selected also because the adaptation was coming out into theaters and a movie always catches the attention of non-readers.

The movie was released and I heard from one student, Molly, "OMG, Pas....it's the greatest movie EVER!! It's totally my favorite!" I apologize, Molly, for making you sound like a Valley Girl, but I can't properly capture your energy in a blog. Maybe I'll have you record it for me later. Point being, Molly ADORES this movie and hasn't stopped talking about it since she first saw it....she has since seen it an estimated 5-6 times...three of those this week alone. Into the Wild was released on DVD this past Tuesday, March 4th, and there was Molly, with DVD in hand, demanding that I give it a try. With trepidation, I watched it. All 2hrs and 28min of it.

Well, guess what. Molly's right. I expected to write a review for this movie with apologies to Molly about how much I was bored by it. Completely not the case. While the movie is rather long, the story is fascinating and inspiring and brilliantly acted.

Emile Hirsch plays Christopher Johnson McCandless, a freshly-out-of-college 23 yr. old who searches for truth. His family life is rocky at best, aside from the closeness he and his sister share. At his celebratory dinner, his parents offer to buy him a brand new car and he is offended by this. The reaction struck me as odd, as I expect it would most people, because who wouldn't want a brand new car? The point is quickly illuminated. Chris eschews material things and yearns to live his life freely and without what he considers to be the evils of society. Material things weigh us down, he believes, and cause us to lie to "fit in" or be accepted. His one desire is to complete his Great Journey - to Alaska - and live off the land.

The film is divided into chapters of growth - from Birth to Manhood - and we are brought along on a remarkable journey across the country. Chris, traveling as Alexander Supertramp, meets many and enlightens the people whom he comes across and you adore them as much as you do him.

The supporting cast is just superb - from hippie Catherine Keener, to parents William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden, sister Jena Malone and young, impressionable Kristen Stewart, to the Academy Award-nominated, sweet, yet stubborn Hal Holbrook. Each is simply, heartbreakingly human and you love love love every single person. You cheer for their accomplishments and feel for their losses. It's because Emile Hirsch's portrayal of Chris is so endearing and real that you feel what he feels for them.

How Hirsch was overlooked for an Academy Award nomination is astounding to me. Also, I think Sean Penn's screenwriting and directing talents are clearly evident with Into the Wild. While the movie is a tad long and you find yourself checking how much is left in the film, it's not through boredom exactly....it's more in wonder of what's coming next and how much time you have to travel left with Chris. I can't quite pin down if it's the feel of a long movie or the dread of what you know is coming - like The Perfect Storm, it's no secret that our hero doesn't make it out of this film alive. Yet you still wish he does, especially when you come to know him as the brilliant, caring, inspiring human being Christopher McCandless must have been.

Thanks, Molly. Good call.



Available on DVD now.