When you embark on a true adventure you may have a goal in mind but the outcome should always carry the burden of some doubt. If there’s adventure that means that some of what lies ahead is left to chance. Sometimes chance is a beast with no mercy, a killer. Chris McCandless had an unfortunate encounter with this incarnation of chance when he set out on the ultimate adventure of living off the land in the Alaskan alpine.
Sean Penn’s thoughtful adaptation of John Krakauer’s best-seller Into the Wild reconstructs the tragedy of McCandless (Emile Hirsch) and in doing so celebrates the impact that one person can have on the world, even in a short time when circumstances are tough. Fresh out of college, McCandless, the product of an upper-middleclass upbringing, abandons his family and possessions and thumbs his way to Alaska. There he plans to live from the land, survive on instinct and find himself.
Into the Wild is a film to meditate on. It’s long, it’s not particularly fast moving but it struck me in a carnal fashion. The search for self in the confines of nature harkens back to the stories of Jack London and the early explorations of America. It touches on instinct, the call of the wild, the search for self. As comfortable as it is to sit on the couch and type on a laptop with a good rock album pulsating in the background, this same comfort creates a disconnect between man and our natural surroundings. By sitting on the couch, I’m not out for a walk in the silent woods that are all around me.
Penn constructs a tribute to nature in Into the Wild. As ferocious and unforgiving as it can be, it’s also constructed as a theater of great beauty and a backdrop for life at its simplest. The film is at its most gorgeous when the camera is simply there capturing the small moments of a deer looking for food in the snow, seagulls hovering over quiet ocean waves and a sparkling sunset. I know I often take these for granted given that I see them so often. Sometimes it takes another person’s eye to recapture the sense of nature’s magic. The powerful soundtrack from Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder deserves special mention for contributing to the film’s attitude.
For McCandless, nature was also an escape. Homely comforts weren’t the only thing troubling him. He simply wasn’t comfortable with the upper-middle class hand he was dealt and the pressures the lifestyle caused his family over the years. He had to get away and become himself rather than the suffocating construct society’s labeling system was cornering him to. So he left it all behind. He literally became a character with a fictitious name – Alexander Supertramp. Now without a past he could shape his own future.
Into the Wild is a beautiful film that takes its time. Despite its lack of action and a very loose plot, it succeeds as art. It demands an instinctive reaction that is lasting rather than a knee-jerk response. Penn and company have created something with a lasting impression that is both entertaining and enlightening. And like a true piece of art, it leads to reflection, not just about what was seen but rather one’s own perspective on life as well.
Into the Wild Blu-ray Review
The Into the Wild Blu-ray release is gorgeous from a technical standpoint but somewhat underwhelming on the bonus features front. The film’s gorgeous cinematography is on full display with the 1080p high definition widescreen picture. Audio is in Dolby 5.1 TrueHD with additional 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in English, French and Spanish. Subtitles are available in the same three languages. Both the featurettes from the two-disc Collector’s Edition are included as in the film’s theatrical trailer in high definition.
Into the Wild DVD Review
Into the Wild comes to DVD with a stunning enhanced widescreen picture. The scenery remains one of the main characters with the magnificent transfer. Audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with additional tracks in 2.0 Surround, and French and Spanish 5.1 Surround. Subtitles are offered in English, Spanish and French.
Bonus features on the two-disc Collector’s Edition are somewhat sparse given that this is a separate release from an even more sparse single-disc release. All you get are a pair of featurettes and the film’s trailer. The first featurette is called “The Story, The Character” and looks at how John Krakauer discovered the story. The featurette also includes commentary from cast and crew members including Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and Hal Holbrook. Their commentary and insights are the most interesting part. “The Story, The Character” runs a little over 20 minutes. The second featurette, “The Experience” is your traditional making-of piece complete with cast and crew interviews. Thankfully there’s a lot more depth to this making-of featurette than similar works on different DVDs. This featurette runs just over 15 minutes.
Although these extras are interesting, it’s somewhat disappointing that that’s all there is for a separate edition. The value just doesn’t seem to be there.
Both the one- and two-disc versions include trailers for There Will Be Blood, Things We Lost in the Fire, The Heartbreak Kid, The Kite Runner, Beowulf and Margot at the Wedding.
Into the Wild Gallery
Trailer
