Spring Break
Hirsch leaves all and ventures Into the Wild
Issue date: 11/1/07
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Into the Wild covers the incredible, true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) as he journeys to Alaska to break from societal constraints and find himself. Along the way, Chris changes his name, meets some interesting characters and discovers the happiness in a nomadic lifestyle.
The movie begins with Chris heading for Alaska, showing the audience his letters as he went. He finally arrives and finds an abandoned bus in which he lives for the remainder of the movie.
Then the flashbacks begin. First, Chris graduates from Emory University, telling his parents that his grades are good enough to get him into Harvard Law. Even this early, it is apparent that this is a dysfunctional family, which is the main reason Chris leaves. While continuously returning to scenes in the "magic bus," as Chris called it, the movie continues to tell the tale of one stubborn but good-hearted kid trying to find himself.
This movie is certainly entertaining. It was humorous at times and serious at others. There were scenes where he climbed mountains, canoed down the Colorado River to Mexico, almost drowned in an icy stream, hunted for food and much more. Therefore, instead of constantly preaching his ideas (he tells the other characters what he believes from time to time but never preaches), he lets his actions speak.
Chris is a good protagonist - he is smart, adventurous and in no way predictable. But he isn't the only interesting character. As Chris journeys from his rebirth to his adulthood, he meets others who all truly cared for this runaway and who also tried to convince him that he shouldn't complete his journey. One of these characters, Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook), even begs Chris to let him adopt him. The part of the story with the aging Ron Franz was touching and tied everything together.
Carine McCandless (Jena Malone), the sister of the protagonist, narrates the movie, but the story isn't about her, and that is always apparent. She is left in the dark about all of Chris' adventures, as are his parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden), but she continues to provide insight into why Chris set out on this incredibly foolish and dangerous journey.
The movie begins with Chris heading for Alaska, showing the audience his letters as he went. He finally arrives and finds an abandoned bus in which he lives for the remainder of the movie.
Then the flashbacks begin. First, Chris graduates from Emory University, telling his parents that his grades are good enough to get him into Harvard Law. Even this early, it is apparent that this is a dysfunctional family, which is the main reason Chris leaves. While continuously returning to scenes in the "magic bus," as Chris called it, the movie continues to tell the tale of one stubborn but good-hearted kid trying to find himself.
This movie is certainly entertaining. It was humorous at times and serious at others. There were scenes where he climbed mountains, canoed down the Colorado River to Mexico, almost drowned in an icy stream, hunted for food and much more. Therefore, instead of constantly preaching his ideas (he tells the other characters what he believes from time to time but never preaches), he lets his actions speak.
Chris is a good protagonist - he is smart, adventurous and in no way predictable. But he isn't the only interesting character. As Chris journeys from his rebirth to his adulthood, he meets others who all truly cared for this runaway and who also tried to convince him that he shouldn't complete his journey. One of these characters, Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook), even begs Chris to let him adopt him. The part of the story with the aging Ron Franz was touching and tied everything together.
Carine McCandless (Jena Malone), the sister of the protagonist, narrates the movie, but the story isn't about her, and that is always apparent. She is left in the dark about all of Chris' adventures, as are his parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden), but she continues to provide insight into why Chris set out on this incredibly foolish and dangerous journey.
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