Walrus Comix DVD Review: Into the Wild

 Sean Penn has never been one to take the easy way out, whether onscreen or off, and certainly not when he’s taken the proverbial step behind the camera. His directorial efforts are often flawed yet in possession of redeeming qualities that hint at the wellspring of talent he holds within that volatile brain of his. In shepherding his latest project, Into the Wild, Penn has finally made good on the promise of his earlier efforts by telling the story of Christopher McCandless, a college graduate who set out on a noteworthy if ultimately doomed quest to reevaluate his place in a society that seemed to be his for the taking even as he resisted the throes of assimilation. Perhaps owing to his distinct familiarity with the concept of polarizing figures, Penn, aided by Emile Hirsch’s starmaking lead performance and a cadre of supporting actors (most notably Hal Holbrook), adequately frames the journey of his lead character in ways that communicate the net gains and losses for all who were involved with McCandless’ sojourn.

There are many laudable qualities that Into the Wild offers, but its effectiveness undoubtedly begins and ends with Emile Hirsch’s depiction of McCandless. In the hands of a lesser actor, McCandless could have easily come off as a shrill dilettante, a wanna-be Don Quixote who replaced windmills with never ending tree lines. Hirsch lends his character the necessary gravitas without evoking a messiah complex, though, and this delicate balance prevents the film from presenting McCandless as a willing martyr as opposed to someone in search of a rewarding journey despite the lack of a clear-cut destination. As he wanders throughout the western half of America, McCandless clearly seems bent on illumination and not annihilation. His embarkment may stand as a rejection of certain social mores, but his motivation doesn’t seem rooted in anger as much as a genuine appreciation for the greater understanding of himself and the land that such an effort may provide. Penn and Hirsch may check their cynicism in lending McCandless a fair share of dignity, but they don’t turn a blind eye to the selfish nature of his quest and the potential for collateral damage that such an intrinsically self-centered expedition engenders. Their refusal to neither lionize nor condemn McCandless proves effective and actually allows for Hirsch’s depiction to resonate more fully, as Hirsch proves fearless in communicating his character’s unrelenting desire to move forward.

While Hirsch’s performance certainly stands as the centerpiece of the film, Penn has put together a solid supporting cast that rounds out the proceedings in ways that flesh out the scope of McCandless’ motivations and machinations. His family, as portrayed by William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Jena Malone, give insight into the germination of his journey. Having witnessed the underbelly of upper middle class affluence and the dysfunction that can’t be masked by status symbols, McCandless forged a bond with his younger sister even as he began to extricate himself from the family tree, and Penn makes a great decision in letting Malone narrate much of the film. McCandless detailed his travels in a journal, thus opening the door for interactions with Catherine Keener as a wandering hippie holdover and Vince Vaughn as a freewheeling farmer. Hirsch’s scenes with Keener are particularly powerful, as she reminds him of the price that others close to him might pay for his tunnel vision. Penn similarly highlights the toll taken on McCandless’ parents, who despite their flaws remain devastated at his disappearance. Of the many people that McCandless encounters, however, his burgeoning relationship with a retired widower, played by Hal Holbrook, proves the most touching and genuinely heartbreaking. As Holbrook’s character offers stories of a life that has been and McCandless theorizes about what life could be, the two men find a commonality in the solitude they both have chosen for varying reasons. The tacit bond they establish makes McCandless’ insistence on making it to the Stampede Trail in Alaska all the more tragic. McCandless would enter the trail armed with few belongings, but his journal helps elucidate the thoughts and eventual revelations that he would never be able to communicate in person again.

Into the Wild stands neither as a cautionary tale or morality play, as Sean Penn has deftly crafted the finest film of his career in highlighting the journey of Christopher McCandless. Buoyed by the performance of Emile Hirsch and augmented by a solid supporting cast, Penn lends the depiction of McCandless a sincere humanity and dignity that support the inspiration of such an undertaking without necessarily validating the exact methods taken. The film is startlingly emotional without being maudlin, and the production is further aided both by the cinematic shots of natural scenery and the presence of Eddie Vedder’s wistfully haunting compositions that serve as a backdrop for McCandless’ psyche. Hirsch remains revelatory as McCandless, and it appears that Penn has finally found the kind of subject matter that offers him the chance to illuminate what he has most often subverted.

- Brant Miles