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‘Into the Wild’ stands out
Sean Penn can direct too
By Sinclaire Joyce
To see a film that has no enhanced features and relies solely on acting and real images is a relief. It shows that there are still people in the movie business who care about a story.
We all know Sean Penn can act. From Jeff Spicolli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" to Jimmy in "Mystic River,” there is ample proof, in addition to his Oscar, that he knows what he is doing on-screen. But his vision behind the camera is just as good, if not better. ’Into the Wild,’ screen-written and directed by Sean Penn, is based on the book by Jon Krakauer. It tells the true story of Christopher Johnson McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, and his “great Alaskan adventure.”
As a recent graduate of Emory College, McCandless donated his college fund and set out West to escape the materialistic society he was born into. He also set out to escape his arrogant parents, played by Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt.
He leaves everything he has and burns all evidence that he ever existed (including some of his money). He leaves no traces of where he is headed and makes absolutely no contact with anyone from his previous life, including his sister, played by Jena Malone.
He meets hippie travelers, a wheat farmer, played by the ever-so-funny Vince Vaughn, and a lonely old man. He introduces himself as Alex Supertramp and eventually arrives in Alaska, where he lives in an abandoned bus for over two months.
It is there where the story ends. He is in search of the meaning of happiness and something true, since so many secrets were kept from him. First of all, the film was all shot on location. There is no computer-generated mountain tops or desert sand. Everything you see in the film is real and, more importantly, breathtaking. The snow-capped mountains of Alaska and Canada as well as the desert of the western United States are some of the most powerful images in this film. Indeed, such imagery enhanced my desire to have my own Alaskan adventure.
The images on-screen also enhance the acting in this film. In the scenes in which McCandless has been alone for a long time with no one to talk to, one can see Emile Hirsch’s face change from happiness to insanity.
One short scene in which the acting is very compelling takes place toward the end of the film, McCandless is gaunt from being deprived of food for so long. A bear walks by and smells him.
The fear that overcomes his face is incredible, and what makes this even more powerful is the way Penn uses the camera to get inside his head. Extreme close up shots and occasional looks into the camera made by Hirsch make you feel as if you are in the movie, experiencing his travels. Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt knock out one more excellent performance in their careers. They play the detached parents of Emile Hirsch and Jena Malone. They have a tumultuous relationship filled with accusations, violence and secrets.
They are real. They play these characters as real people and you forget that they are actors. They don’t realize that their relationship has caused their children so much harm. Like many parents, they don’t fully understand their children and what the smallest thing can do to them. Overall, this film produced so many emotions within the space of two hours and 20 minutes that it’s hard to walk away from it and not think about how it may impact your life. It is a film that has wonderful humor, intense drama and extreme sympathy for all characters. It is award-worthy and deserves all the praise it receives.
It proves Sean Penn can direct as well as act and that Emile Hirsch is not a young Hollywood pretty boy, but also a strong actor who will hopefully not ever have to go to rehab. It is one of the best films I have seen this year and hopefully more films like it will be made. Films that base themselves on a story and the feelings it produces are few and far between. So to see a film that has no enhanced features and relies solely on acting and real images is a relief. It shows that there are still people in the movie business who care about a story.
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