Plot Overview
As one of the great actors of our time and perhaps the best of his generation, Sean Penn is known as a fierce, bold and uncompromising artist in the film industry. Apart from his terrific acting career, he is also an accomplished filmmaker of some very solid and independent works like The Crossing Guard (1995) and The Pledge (2001). Into the Wild is his fourth outing as a director and perhaps his most personal. It follows a recent college graduate Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch), an outstanding student and athlete from Emory University, who suddenly decides to abandon his parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden), his loving sister (Jena Malone), and all his possessions and give his entire $25,000 savings account to charity in order to hitchhike to Alaska and live in the wilderness. On his journey he meets colorful characters including a genuine hippie (Catherine Keener), a friendly farmer (Vince Vaughn), a potential love interest (Kristen Stewart) and an Army vet (Hal Holbrook). These people share their lives with him and become an insoluble part of his.

The Good
Although Into the Wild is superlative in numerous aspects, the film belongs to its leading man Emile Hirsch. A challenging and fearless role, it is a performance of a lifetime (and he is only 22). Losing 40 pounds for the role and transforming his body into skin and bones, Hirsch’s performance of a rebellious dreamer is a captivating, enormously affecting work, where even the radiance from his big eyes tells us what he is feeling. There is an epic dimension and scope to Penn’s film, as it cheerfully commemorates America and its beauty and gives us a striking visual splendor via its cinematography. Into the Wild is a highly lyrical picture, propelled by Eddie Vedder’s gripping musical score. Shot entirely on location, it observes one man’s journey of self-discovery and goes straight into the heart of loneliness.

The Bad
Penn’s film is way too long, where about half hour should have been left on the editing room floor. The movie definitely has its faults, mainly considering how uneven it is throughout. Regarding the story structure, it is sometimes hard to believe the effect Chris had on the people he met on his trip. Everybody thinks that he is this larger-than-life, totally lovable, Jesus-like figure, but the truth is, he was a deeply flawed young man. That phase was hard to buy into.

Final Word
Watching this movie, I was reminded of David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999), a true account about a 73-year-old man who somehow rode a lawn mower from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his estranged, ailing brother. What was so special about that film were the characters he met on the way and how they reshaped his life. Into the Wild does something along the same lines. Identifying strongly with Chris McCandless, Sean Penn has made a harrowing, deeply emotional and devastatingly sad movie. Compelling and captivating, it is a truthful examination of human pain, which loves its anti-hero immeasurably and those who believe in him will be moved to tears.