Into the Wild
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We finally got to see this film on Saturday, and it was as great as they say. Most of you know the true-life story, based on the bestseller by Jon Krakauer of the same title: Chris McCandless is a college grad who ran away from his family and lived as a tramp, roaming all over the United States in an effort to live off nature. Cut off from his family, he lived some amazing adventures at the cost of his (albeit dysfunctional and sometimes abusive) family's despair at his disappearance. A charismatic and smart guy, he made an impression on many of the people who ran into, which allowed Jon Krakauer to retrace the events of his life from the time he left home till he met his end, stranded in the Alaska wilderness.
The film was directed by Sean Penn and stars Emile Hirsch as Chris. A few years ago I saw a great movie called The Lords of Dogtown, based on the rise of skateboarding as a sport in California. Especially memorable was the actor who played Jay, a young troubled skateboarder. I thought he was one of the most charismatic actors I'd ever seen . . . and he was really young. I'd always wondered what happened to him and voila! It turns out that actor was Emile Hirsch, who plays a totally different kind of character here. Not only is he absolutely watchable for three hours as Chris McCandless, but he manages to walk that thin line, as an actor, of making Chris sympathetic (as apparently he was) but not overly romanticized.
Some other things I liked about this film:
* The balance of Chris’s story with his parents’ story: I was afraid that the movie would exalt Chris as a character while downplaying the pain he caused his family. But just like Tim Robbins in Dead Man Walking orchestrated a perfect balance between his death row inmate's story and the story of his victims, here Sean Penn allows room for Chris's own story to breathe while never letting His parents’ and sister's heartbreak slip from view. His family's story during the time of his disappearance is narrated by Jena Malone as Chris's sister. And she allows you to see the abuse and pain that caused Chris to try to escape but also their parents' pain, and the way they grew and changed because of this tragedy. It illustrates what so many of us have learned through life: From suffering comes wisdom.
* The film made me see an aspect of Chris's story that I had missed in the book. Most of the wanderers in the movie have experienced some sort of life tragedy that has left them wounded and looking for comfort. Each has their way of dealing with it: Some take to alcohol, some take to the road, and it became clear that, for Chris, nature was that comfort. Most of us has been at the beach or in the mountains and felt the healing power of nature. For Chris, who hurt so badly, that healing power was almost an addiction. Swallowed up in the beauty, grandeur, and renovating experience that is nature, his pain was blunted or forgotten.
* The complexity of Sean Penn's vision of Chris's lifestyle: Partly he's running away from his parents, punishing his parents, running to something great, partly it's just in his personality to be extreme. The film also made me see that, like many victims of abuse (even just being a witness to abuse) he has deadened himself to avoid the pain. And like a cutter who cuts their skin to feel alive, he needs to experience something extreme to feel alive.
* The movie gives a peep hole into the lives of wanderers. Here, people like Catherine Keener are wounded beings who deal in the only ways they can. Again, the film neither romanticizes or dismisses their lifestyle.
* The use of symbolism: I liked the character of the girl Tracy as a symbol of the hurtful withdrawal that Chris performs on everyone. It's hard to understand: Is he trying to be hurtful? Does he realizes how hurtful he is to others and just doesn't care? Is human contact too painful to him? Or is he just tired of being desired, of being wanted, of having demands made on him? I also like the use of plane imagery. Throughout most of the film, wherever he goes, even if there is no other human contact, he can still see the occasional plane overhead. He seems to need to drive farther and farther into the wilderness to escape it. It is only in Alaska that the plane disappears from view.
* The way his acquaintances challenge him: While accepting him and enjoying him, they don't leave his decisions unquestioned. This is true of Catherine Keener, but also of Vince Vaughn, who, when Chris tells him of his plans to go to Alaska, says, "And then what??"
* The imagined image of reconciliation at his moment of death reminded me a little of the death scene in Pan's Labyrinth. We want to believe that beyond the pain and imperfections of this world, we will have another chance at happiness, peace, justice.
* The supporting performances: Hal Holbrook gives perhaps the best portrayal of old man ever seen in film. Vince Vaughn is great, as are Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, and Jena Malone.
-
We finally got to see this film on Saturday, and it was as great as they say. Most of you know the true-life story, based on the bestseller by Jon Krakauer of the same title: Chris McCandless is a college grad who ran away from his family and lived as a tramp, roaming all over the United States in an effort to live off nature. Cut off from his family, he lived some amazing adventures at the cost of his (albeit dysfunctional and sometimes abusive) family's despair at his disappearance. A charismatic and smart guy, he made an impression on many of the people who ran into, which allowed Jon Krakauer to retrace the events of his life from the time he left home till he met his end, stranded in the Alaska wilderness.
The film was directed by Sean Penn and stars Emile Hirsch as Chris. A few years ago I saw a great movie called The Lords of Dogtown, based on the rise of skateboarding as a sport in California. Especially memorable was the actor who played Jay, a young troubled skateboarder. I thought he was one of the most charismatic actors I'd ever seen . . . and he was really young. I'd always wondered what happened to him and voila! It turns out that actor was Emile Hirsch, who plays a totally different kind of character here. Not only is he absolutely watchable for three hours as Chris McCandless, but he manages to walk that thin line, as an actor, of making Chris sympathetic (as apparently he was) but not overly romanticized.
Some other things I liked about this film:
* The balance of Chris’s story with his parents’ story: I was afraid that the movie would exalt Chris as a character while downplaying the pain he caused his family. But just like Tim Robbins in Dead Man Walking orchestrated a perfect balance between his death row inmate's story and the story of his victims, here Sean Penn allows room for Chris's own story to breathe while never letting His parents’ and sister's heartbreak slip from view. His family's story during the time of his disappearance is narrated by Jena Malone as Chris's sister. And she allows you to see the abuse and pain that caused Chris to try to escape but also their parents' pain, and the way they grew and changed because of this tragedy. It illustrates what so many of us have learned through life: From suffering comes wisdom.
* The film made me see an aspect of Chris's story that I had missed in the book. Most of the wanderers in the movie have experienced some sort of life tragedy that has left them wounded and looking for comfort. Each has their way of dealing with it: Some take to alcohol, some take to the road, and it became clear that, for Chris, nature was that comfort. Most of us has been at the beach or in the mountains and felt the healing power of nature. For Chris, who hurt so badly, that healing power was almost an addiction. Swallowed up in the beauty, grandeur, and renovating experience that is nature, his pain was blunted or forgotten.
* The complexity of Sean Penn's vision of Chris's lifestyle: Partly he's running away from his parents, punishing his parents, running to something great, partly it's just in his personality to be extreme. The film also made me see that, like many victims of abuse (even just being a witness to abuse) he has deadened himself to avoid the pain. And like a cutter who cuts their skin to feel alive, he needs to experience something extreme to feel alive.
* The movie gives a peep hole into the lives of wanderers. Here, people like Catherine Keener are wounded beings who deal in the only ways they can. Again, the film neither romanticizes or dismisses their lifestyle.
* The use of symbolism: I liked the character of the girl Tracy as a symbol of the hurtful withdrawal that Chris performs on everyone. It's hard to understand: Is he trying to be hurtful? Does he realizes how hurtful he is to others and just doesn't care? Is human contact too painful to him? Or is he just tired of being desired, of being wanted, of having demands made on him? I also like the use of plane imagery. Throughout most of the film, wherever he goes, even if there is no other human contact, he can still see the occasional plane overhead. He seems to need to drive farther and farther into the wilderness to escape it. It is only in Alaska that the plane disappears from view.
* The way his acquaintances challenge him: While accepting him and enjoying him, they don't leave his decisions unquestioned. This is true of Catherine Keener, but also of Vince Vaughn, who, when Chris tells him of his plans to go to Alaska, says, "And then what??"
* The imagined image of reconciliation at his moment of death reminded me a little of the death scene in Pan's Labyrinth. We want to believe that beyond the pain and imperfections of this world, we will have another chance at happiness, peace, justice.
* The supporting performances: Hal Holbrook gives perhaps the best portrayal of old man ever seen in film. Vince Vaughn is great, as are Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, and Jena Malone.
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posted by Anonymous at
1:54 PM
1 Comments:
I was already intrigued by this film, having appreciated the book, but your review has convinced me I must see it on the big screen. Hurrah, Kibble! Hurrah.
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