Into The Wild Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Your great adventure on Alaska.
INTO THE WILD is based on a true story and the bestselling book by Jon Krakauer. After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless (Hirsch) abandons his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
| Emile Hirsch | Christopher McCandless |
| Marcia Gay Harden | Billie McCandless |
| William Hurt | Walt McCandless |
| Jena Malone | Carine McCandless |
| Brian Dierker | Rainey/Marine Coordinator |
| Catherine Keener | Jan Burres |
| Vince Vaughn | Wayne Westerberg |
| Kristen Stewart | Tracy |
| Hal Holbrook | Ron Franz |
| Bart the Bear | The Bear |
| Dan Burch | Passerby |
| Joe Dustin | The Beast |
| Zach Galifianakis | Kevin |
| John Jabaley | Announcer |
| Thure Lindhardt | Thomas |
| Sean Penn |
8.20 out of 10 (5447 votes)
Visitor Reviews
You have to be dumb to commit suicide like this
posted on 28 Aug 2009The movie itself deserves no less than a 7 but the theme and the portrayal of Chris bothered me...this movie is making a coward into a hero...just because Chris has a bad childhood doesn't mean that everyone who has a bad childhood goes into the wild or commits suicide...he was not even dimwitted, he was an A student, and it enrages me to see someone spoiling their life like this..and Sean Penn is giving the wrong message to his viewers...youth all around the world are getting a bad example in the form of Chris...if you cant face your problems like a man then go kill yourself..this is an utterly pathetic approach to life.....
Very touching and sad story
posted on 28 Aug 2009What a wonderful film. And what a sad story. I understand Christopher's eagerness to experience a different kind of lifestyle and somehow try to get away of all the problems he had back at home. But that would've been good if it had been for a while, in order to find himself. What I found amazing is all the different people he met along his journey and how he touched and left a part of him in each one of them. However, the only thing that bothers me is that he was a little selfish, because, as much as he wanted to reach his destination and make his dream come true, all the people that were left behind suffered from his absence and thinking what was it like for him being out there, with nothing but will, courage and a dream. It's sad how a situation like this makes a person react. Christopher's parents knew they had done something wrong and it was to late to make it right. Emile Hirsch's performance is extraordinary. The rest of the cast is very good. I was very surprised to see a grown-up Kristen Stewart, performing a song with a very nice voice. Sean Penn did it again, now from the director's chair. The landscapes are breathtaking, shown with a very pleasant soundtrack.
this brilliant movie touch your heart
posted on 26 Aug 2009is an excellent movie, with an outstanding performance from Emile Hirsch. one of the best works from Sean Penn, maybe his best. a perfect symbiosis of pictures,story and the actor's play. the supporting cast with Marcia Gay Harden,William Hurt,Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn,Kristen Stewart and Hal Holbrook are fantastic too. the conflict between the parents,famous play from harden and hurt. this is one of the best movie's in 2007 and touch your heart,if you let it happen. i reflect hours about this movie and the story behind, the resolution of Chris,his egoism,brake up all bridges behind him and hurt the people,who love him. tomorrow, i will buy the book, too learn more about this story.
Happiness only real when shared
posted on 24 Aug 2009That's what the movie hero writes in his diary in the end. This movie tells the story of a young man who after graduating in university with very high marks decides to abandon home, family and everything and go to live into the wild in Alaska like if it was his promised land. He is pushed into that not only but what they call the lies of modern civilized life and social hypocrisy but also because, thinking like that, he is particularly hurt by his parents lies about their past private lives. While the movie progresses we hear his sister's voice off stressing the most important moments and aspects of his life. In my opinion the message the movie wants to pass is that there is a mistake to show revolt against society by running away to live with Nature and alone. In his course to Alaska our hero (who walks and hitch-hikes all the time) stops sometimes here and there to get occasional works that can give him a little money to enable him to support himself on his course. In those moments he creates bonds of friendship and love with lots of people but always rejects any possibilities of staying with them in his stubborn march to Alaska where he wants to spend at least a great part of his life in contact only with Mother Nature. He leaves lots of people who have become very fond of him, very unhappy with his absence. Mother nature is not always paradisiacal and may also be very cruel sometimes and even violent. And for instance the wild food it provides can be poisonous. Adding to the movie's credit are the beautiful landscape images and the splendid background music and songs of the country type.
No phone, no pool, no pets. No cigarettes.
posted on 24 Aug 2009I can only imagine that there are many others, like myself and Chris, who want to be free of those "irksome obligations," and just take off. Unfortunately, most, like myself, will never do it. The story of Chris is a vicarious thrill for me.I was anxious to see him head to "slab city," ever since I saw Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. It has been one of those places I wanted to explore. But, that had to wait as he headed for South Dakota. It didn't matter where he went, there were outstanding scenes to experience and great people along the way.I have to say that Vince Vaughn really impressed me in this film. This is not the Vince Vaughn that I do not like.Rather than wait 12 years for a permit, he just took off down the river. If he hadn't he wouldn't have met Sonja and Rads.Finally, Salton Sea, and Rainey and Jan (Catherine Keener) again; and Tracey (Kristen Stewart). He was a gentleman and saved her for the vampire to come.A stop on the way to gain wisdom from the great Hal Holbrook, and it's time to go. "But when you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines through you," Knowing people like his parents and the fact that similar things have happened due to their actions regarding their children, makes this story all the more personal. It is one that anyone can gain by seeing over and over.A magnificent story, great scenery, fascinating people, and a grisly ending.Emile Hirsch was amazing.
pseudo-intellectual movie for pseudo-intellectuals
posted on 22 Aug 2009This movie reflects the typical mom and dad's rich boy that is tired of being rich so he wants to break the bonds with society. Interestingly, he keeps taking advantage of what society has to offer, like a society's leech: taking rides from people, going by train without paying his ticket, getting free food from poor souls that pitied him, etc. Into the "wild"... was that the case? The first thing he did once he arrived to Alaska was to live in an abandoned van with "heater", oil, matches, rice?! I didn't know you could grow rice in Alaska in the middle of the hard winter... Everyday you learn something new. My favorite part was when he, a rich boy, was going to stay at the shelter, surrounded by poor people. I wonder what the indigents would say if they knew he was loaded. Its a stupid movie about the life of a tired to be rich boy that could only be liked by people that do not appreciate what they have. Its an insult. I cant believe people worship stupids like this pseudo-intellectual kid. Not worth watching.
Not a life to be proud of...
posted on 20 Aug 2009First of all,my deepest sympathies with the McCandless family. As for the movie, I think we first ought to take in consideration the "extraordinary" life chris led.. I for one, do not relate with him on most grounds. Although I can say that I do have a wanderlust and would like to travel as much as chris did, but my holidays wont be executed in a similar way as chris. I can never understand why chris left his family(essentially his sister)? or why he found it appropriate to form a bond with hippies instead of corresponding with his family even once. I do not have sympathy for a person who goes all alone into Alaska unprepared.I do not have sympathy for a person who longs to live in the wild, but lacks common sense, hunting and cooking skills. Most importantly, we all face problems in life, but I consider it cowardly to run away from them like this. As for Direction and all, I think the movie lost it with the Emile hirsch-staring-into-the-camera tactic.. It was way too long(at least half an hour should have been chopped off) and the sequence shown with Hal holbrook or katherine keener for that matter were not all that impressive. The finest part was the last ten minutes, where Chris realizes his mistake, where all the ppl he had met are shown in a dream sequence, in fact its the ending that forced me to give it a 5 rating.
Unpredictable, but on the money
posted on 20 Aug 2009When I spotted an advertisement for this film in a British newspaper, complete with rave reviews, my interest was piqued enough that I looked it up on IMDb, saw the 8+/10 rating and read a couple of the bits of trivia and thought "Fantastic." and pretty much ran down to the video library.The initial comment I made to the friends with whom I watched the film was: "Hmm. That was a little different to what I was expecting." - and therein, I fear, lies the rub. The problem with having expectations built up about a slightly unusual sort of film is that they are, almost inevitably, confounded. I would point to the example of Napoleon Dynamite; a totally different sort of film that can be hugely enjoyable if one watches it with no expectations of any kind (as I did); or lame nonsense if the film has been raved about by your friends (as happened for one of my friends who disliked ND).However I was curious as to what most of the negative reviews of this film said - almost without exception, they seem to have come from people who have little to no idea about how to critique a film of this kind, and while I am no professional critic I would point out the following.The production values of this film are outstanding. There are any number of light touches of camera-work and editing that quietly assert the thought and effort that have gone into this film; so that to rate it anywhere below 7/10 is shameful. I need not go to any lengths to heap further praise on the soundtrack. Penn's casting and directing skills, likewise, cannot be questioned. The film felt so authentic that it was frequently more akin to watching a documentary than a screenplay; most of the bit-part characters (ie. the lesser roles; not the parts played by Hurt, Harden, Keener, Holbrook and Vaughn) felt so real that I wondered if they were professional actors at all - thinking that if so, they were outstanding. The decision to film exclusively on location, while perhaps obvious by film-making standards, is a brave one considering that filming in Canada, for example, would have sacrificed comparatively little in return for the financial savings.The biggest problem in terms of reception, it seems, is in Penn's dialogue - the screenplay itself. Not having read Krakauer's book, I feel it is not something I can criticise fairly. A number of the adverse comments about the film posted on IMDb seem to rage against holding McCandless up as some kind of role model - sorry folks, you've missed the point. The art of cinema is one of STORY-TELLING. Penn is telling a story of a young man who lived by his ideals. Does anyone have the right to question the beliefs of another? Or to criticise an artistic portrayal of such a tale based on fact on the grounds of plot? Expect an engaging story, well-told, and enjoy Penn's direction and Hirsch's performance.
Beautiful Film, Even Better Than The Book
posted on 20 Aug 2009For a movie to be even better than a good book is no small feat. Yet, that's how I felt after watching this film. It really impressed me. One of the reasons is the fantastic cinematography. Man, this is a beautifully filmed and, at 142 minutes, there are a lot of great scenes to admire.Sean Penn directed and Eddie Gautier was the Director Of Photography. I can't stand Penn as a person but fair-is-fair and I think he's great as a director, having seen his work in "The Pledge" and "The Crossing Guard." The main actor, Emile Hirsch, who plays "Chris McCandless" (a.k.a. "Alexander Supertramp" reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio with his looks, build and voice inflection. He is very credible as the young guy who wants nothing to do with materialistic society and dreams of living in the wilds of Alaska. The problem was that he was unprepared and underestimated what he was up against.Two people who fascinated me the most in here were two extremes, age-wise - Hal Holbrook and Kristen Stewart. It was really great to see the veteran Holbrook ("Ron France") again. He was about 82 when he made this film and hadn't acted in a film in a few years. He was terrific, too. He had some of the most memorable scenes in the story. Meanwhile, teenager Stewart was captivating as "Tracy Tatro," who had a crush on "Alex." This young woman is on her way to stardom.Brian Dierker and Catherine Keener also were really, really interesting as the aging hippie couple, "Rainey" and "Jan." I kept thinking, I know this guy when listening to Dierker's voice, finally guessing it was Jeff Bridges underneath all the beard....but it Dierker, a guy who rarely acts in films.Knowing the book, the only part of the film that caught be off-guard was the young Swedish couple. I don't remember them in the book but I'll never forget this in this film!! One could debate the pros and cons of Chris McCandless for hours, so no sense going into that here. I thought the film was pretty kind to him. You read more in the book about how he hurt a lot of people with his silence. Either way, it's a a fascinating story and a beautiful film.
great film
posted on 18 Aug 2009THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!I didn't know much about this film or the story behind it when my girlfriend passed it over to me in blockbusters. The film starts well enough but I was already checking the box to see at what time it would finish. Then as it went on I found my self drawn in. If music could tell a story then the soundtrack from Eddie Vedder tells it perfectly. The story follows Chris Mcandless who in my opinion dies tragically by his own mistakes, but died only after living the way he wanted to live. The film is filmed perfectly in my opinion, and had me by the end not wanting the film to end. Never before has a film affected me so much that weeks after seeing it I cant stop thinking about it. If you haven't seen it then see it. I have nothing but admiration and respect for Alexander Supertramp for having the balls to do what he wanted to do the way he wanted to do it.
saddest and the best ending i have ever seen
posted on 16 Aug 2009to begin with i was seeing this movie uninterestingly .but as the movie was coming to the end. i was like very eager to know what will be the end like.seeing the end i just cant stop saying ,what a superb end.though it was sad. but it was the best end i have ever seen in a long time.my rating 9 out of 10.emile Hirsch is a superb actor and going on the lines of tom hanks as a perfectionist.i hope he gets many awards for this movie.after seeing this movie i am also planning a foot trip but with precautions.Sean Penn has given his best.i recommend it to all movie viewers.this movie is for all those who feel of absolute and ultimate freedom.
I guess I should have read the book.
posted on 12 Aug 2009I've got to wonder what Emory taught that guy(assuming he wasn't schizophrenic). The only thing that remotely moved me was how much of a jerk he was for not staying in touch with his family. I went on a four year road trip and purposely left my folks hanging for a year. It turned my father's hair white. My mom later told me of wondering if she would get a call that they had found me lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I never failed to keep in touch after that. Folks, if you come up here and plan to stray very far from your cruise ship/tour bus/rental car, just remember that much better people than this guy die all the time for many reasons. Know what you are doing or find someone who does! I could not help but wonder how that old International bus got 20 miles off the road. Probably would have made a better movie.
where are all its Oscars?
posted on 12 Aug 20091.) Sean Penn is an outstanding actor, however his directing skills in this outshine any performance he has given. Emile Hirsch gives an outstanding performance (something hard to come by in such young actors) in this emotionally life changing film. I don't know why the academy did not recognise it or why Hirsch has not been approached by other filmmakers for his staggeringly good acting skills. 2.) The cinematography, location filming and art-house (but not too surreal) direction is perhaps the best I've seen, ever. 3.) The story is true which makes the film even more powerful and emotionally charging (cryable). 4.) The co-stars are all outstanding despite not getting a lot of screen time. 5.) before this film I had never heard of how Chris macandles gave his life's savings to charity and went into the wild. And finally the script/ journey itself is phenomenal and the moral of the film and everything Macandles stood for is so true. it will open your eyes to the true meaning of life.
selfish, emotionally fetal boy takes off without letting anyone who has ever cared about him know and "plays" for the rest of his life.
posted on 10 Aug 2009good photography. performances OK. mr penn continues displaying his backseat limo liberal fodder in idealizing a self indulgent solipsistic brat. so he gives away the money his family worked for to ,"feed somebody".had he been truly sympathetic to the downtrodden he could have made better use of his time than to be playing vagabond (knowing ultimately that he had a place to go if necessary). to idealize this teenybopper unabomber is vulgar. no feelings of consequence for his action, only let's play some more because it's fun. no contribution to society, no recognition of the pain caused to the sister he supposedly "loved". this guy was by definition a sociopath. for a film to exalt this loser is a sad commentary on humanity. perhaps one day little sean will be able to progress beyond his adolescent ego, but that is doubtful.
There is good & bad in this movie.
posted on 08 Aug 2009Maybe its because I am much older than many film goers.I cannot overly praise this film , as some have.The good things first. The production, IT IS EXCELLENTBeautiful cinematography,excellent settings,costumes etc.A very good song score & marvelous acting by all concernedNow the other side of the coin. It is overly long, 148 minutes is about 40 minutes too long.The lead character -Chris- is not a likable young man. He is a selfish lad who doesn't even let his parents or his sister know if he is OK. Granted the parents were dysfunctional BUT at least care enough to let them know you are OK every so often.Emile Hirsch does a superb job as Chris, I just did not care about him or that he perishes.Sean Penn, wrote & directed in his usual fine style. The acting is excellent by all.This is enough to give the film a passing grade, I expected MORE.Ratings *** (out of 10) 84 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)
Understandable until the very end!
posted on 08 Aug 2009To understand this movie, one have to look into ones soul and try to understand one's purpose is in world really is and what it all means at the end? Which I presume is partly the reason …why Mr. Sean Penn made Mr. Krakauer's book into a movie. In Chris McCandless' world the notions of material excess and gratification comes second or even last. This also allowed him to adopt a philosophy that money does not bring the sole meaning in life as his dad tried to masquerade his own wrong doings with materialistic possessions. Though the journey that Chris McCandless undertakes throughout the country in order to find some meaning to his life, it also gives him some answers, that were staring at him in the face all along. By this, I mean that all of the connections that Chris severed with his real family, he also sort of had to make on the road with his new surrogate family. Ironically the fact that he never once called home to tell his family, where he was …it is both (his natural & surrogate) families that feel his loss. There is no doubt that along with the message, music, panorama vistas, Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook's performance that this movie will win an award. By the time the real Chris McCandless death ……I too was coming to an end of my own journey which lasted 8 years (and began at 17 years old), into the wilderness to some of the harshest climates and even I always followed the rules to this day. Which is why the end of this movie shocks me to this day. According to the locals Chris …refused the following 1) a local map and 2) winter gear. In addition …there was a bridge a few miles he could have traversed during flashflood season and 10 miles away there was a shelter with resupplies. After learning, all of this, Iam still not sure how to take this movie. Though it made me shed a tear at the end, the message I got from it, is when it comes to nature and family …humility may be your greatest salvation.
This movie makes you think of your life
posted on 08 Aug 2009This is a great movie, which makes you think of your life. I don't know why did I cry so hard when I saw this movie. Maybe the character Christopher (Alex) resembled my own life. And I think, it resembles the life of every guy to a certain extent, as everyone of us go for escapism at some points of our life due to various pressures. This movie shows the life of a man who leaves every thing, absolutely everything and go for an ultimate and pure escapism, and what does he learn and realize at the end. With awesome Eddie Vedder's track throughout the movie, this movie is enlightening as well as entertaining and a very important movie.
Mr. Penn's Grand Opus
posted on 06 Aug 2009Deeply thematic, the story of a young man's wilderness experience is rendered compelling because the events really happened. Non-fiction is usually more potent than contrived fiction. And in this case the story's climax packs quite a dramatic punch. Mostly as a result of how the story ends, viewers are bound to come away with strong opinions about the idealistic protagonist, Chris McCandless, and his quest for truth. As such, "Into The Wild" works, but only because the real life events force you to think.That said, it's been quite some time since I have endured a movie wherein the film direction was so annoying. You would think that Director Sean Penn would fashion a low-key, restrained film in sync with McCandless' disdain for money and showy materialism. No such luck.Penn constructs a two and a half hour grand opus, bombastic in tone and smug in its philosophical righteousness. The main character is portrayed as some modern day spiritual guru endowed with miraculous insight. Penn hangs on every word the guru says. The film's plot structure is unnecessarily convoluted as if to suggest profundity. Camera work is gimmicky and flashy. And the soundtrack is overbearing. In short, McCandless' genuinely moving real life story provides the opportunistic Penn with a chance to display his flair for showmanship.With all that ostentation and excess, the film screams out for recognition. It's as if Sean Penn is campaigning for every cinematic award in the books. I would thus argue that "Into The Wild" is not so much about Chris McCandless as it is about ... Sean Penn.I normally like outdoor adventure stories and films based on real life events. But I found this film something of an ordeal to sit through. The basic story is quite compelling. And much of the film's scenery is gorgeous. Both casting and acting are quite acceptable, especially the performance of the always reliable Hal Holbrook. But the film's direction is so distracting in a tacitly self-congratulatory way, I don't think I could sit through it again.
A Selfish Quest for Truth
posted on 02 Aug 2009Sean Penn's film "Into the Wild" was based on true events and will haunt viewers long after the final credits fade to black. A recent college graduate, disillusioned by his parents' materialism and duplicity, Christopher McCandless heads off on a meandering journey with the goal of eventually reaching Alaska. Once he has "disappeared" by abandoning his car, burning his money, and erasing his identity, the young man wanders the American west in search of himself. The ensuing road movie details the various encounters that he has over the months and years of his journey of discovery. Although Christopher has lost faith in human relationships, he meets and seemingly bonds with a number of people, all of whom take to the engaging, often charming, young man and try to help him. However, he unsentimentally severs his bonds with each, although they apparently have developed feelings and care for him. Rejecting friendship, Christopher seemingly has no romantic feelings or sexual desires either, and he rejects the one overture that is explicitly made.McCandless's wanderings eventually take him to the Alaskan wilderness where he takes shelter in an abandoned bus and manages to survive on fish and game. The film flashes back and forth between his time in the bus and earlier episodes. The words of his diary are quoted throughout the film, and his eventual realization that there is little joy in life without sharing it with someone comes too late. Emile Hirsch fills the physically demanding role of Christopher and plays it exceptionally well. Among the people Christopher encounters, Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook stand out as a mature earth mother and a lonely widower, respectively."Into the Wild" was made with the cooperation of the McCandless family, who were brave to have exposed themselves and their feelings so publicly. Well played by William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden, the parents emerge as typical appearance-obsessed Americans who cannot understand their son and mourn and grieve at his alienation and absence. They are not villains, and the son's actions wreak more pain on his family than they ever deserved or inflicted on him. In fact, the young man leaves much pain behind him in his ultimately selfish journey. Not only do his parents and sister suffer, but a young girl, an old retired widower, and a generous middle-aged hippie couple all fall victim to his charms and eventual abandonment. Although Christopher seems convinced that he is on a noble quest, there is nothing noble about inflicting unwarranted pain on those who love you. The words of his final realization and the images that end the film will be etched indelibly in viewers' minds. With both the screenplay and direction to his credit, Sean Penn has fashioned an outstanding adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book and has moved beyond "promising" to "accomplished" status in both roles.
A long, difficult but satisfying and captivating journey
posted on 28 Aug 2009I don't like judging actors and filmmakers by their personality. Tom Cruise may be completely insane and his constant pushing of his Scientology agenda can be excruciating, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a fantastic actor and that I won't watch and enjoy hi s movies. So Sean Penn may be sociopathic, and he may push his political agendas too strong, but he's also one of this generation's most intense and talented actors. I haven't seen The Crossing Guard, but Into the Wild certainly proves that Penn is an almost equally talented filmmaker as well.Surprisingly, Penn employs many unorthodox filming techniques and gimmicks characteristic of the much younger post-modern film-making generation of today. From shaky zooms to really creative use of camera angles and positions to jump- and flash-cuts to text scrawling across the screen. Notice how effectively Penn uses cheap-looking video footage to portray Christopher's brief fantasy sequence involving him reuniting with his parents, or Penn's shocking and very risky use of breaking the fourth wall. It is a kind of wild, loose and visceral style of film-making that is used skillfully to portray that kind of no-strings-attached wilderness that the film portrays in the first place.Penn smartly chooses to employ these elements, as they are exactly what his sprawling, epic, lengthy creation needs for variety and to keep his audience captivated. He certainly provides us with a lot to work with – his film is even divided into chapters, like a novel and less like a short and to-the-point story. The story of Christopher McCandless is one of epic proportions: encompassing two I'd imagine very eventful years, even after selecting a common theme to focus on Penn ends up with a movie scraping at a two-and-a-half hour runtime. But while the crux and initiative of the film is the true story of McCandless' fascinating and unbelievable ascent (or descent?) into spiritual freedom by ridding himself of his money and possessions and eventually launching himself into the wild to live completely off of the land, Penn instead chooses to keep the focus on very particular aspects of Christopher's journey, specifically his relations with other people.Indeed the only chapter depicting Christopher completely alone is the final part of his journey on the "Magic Bus" in the Alaskan wilderness, which Penn splices and intercuts with the chronological series of events that unfolds. The rest of the chapters depict Christopher's encounters with various people and characters along his journey, and although the chapters are named aptly emphasizing the change Christopher undergoes with these encounters, the main feeling we get is just how much Christopher leaves his mark on these people, and not the other way around. He helps mend the hippie couple's love life, he finds a new friend in Wayne, and finally he gives both the optimistically young Tracy and the near-the-end old Ron Franz something to hope for. Even Christopher's parents are drawn closer together by his leaving them behind. What's wonderful is that while Christopher's hokey material-free philosophy may seem immature, naïve and perhaps a bit self-destructive, it is in these scenes where he encounters the various characters along the way that we can see his true selflessness, and it is awe-inspiring. The fact that Christopher's epiphany in his dying moments is that "happiness isn't real unless shared" just further goes to prove just what a lasting impression these encounters and relationships with various other people are what kept him going.On a more superficial plane, Penn, perhaps employing the immense clout he has around Tinseltown, has assembled an impressive ensemble cast to fill these small supporting roles of the characters Christopher encounters along his journey. From absolutely devastating performances by Oscar winners Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt as Christopher's worried but suffocating parents to intelligent turns from the likes of Vince Vaughn and Catherine Keener, who plays a surprisingly sweet and happy-go-lucky character similar to the one she portrayed in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and which serves as a total opposite to the kind of manipulative femme fatales she usually plays, like her Oscar-nominated turn in Being John Malkovich. Kristen Stewart plays young, naïve and desperate to its fullest extent, and Hal Holbrook gives the opus performance near the end of the film, providing it with a very important emotional axis. But the centerpiece performance is that of Emile Hirsch; embodying McCandless, he manages to perfectly capture his youthful wonder and perhaps even naivety and delivers a performance of immense power and intensity, including startling and gutsy physical transformations surprising for an actor so young. Indeed it seems like just yesterday that Hirsch was underage and starring in teen comedies like The Girl Next Door: I think it's safe to say that not only is Into the Wild Hirsch's unofficial transition to acting maturity, but also that it proves he is one incredibly talented performer.In all, Into the Wild is a long, difficult but ultimately very satisfying and captivating journey. Penn takes us down a long road and populates it with interesting characters and unique, unorthodox film-making techniques. And it's all accompanied by a great soundtrack including wonderful songs by Eddie Vedder that perfectly capture the spirit of the film. It is a unique film that takes many risks, and it all pays off wonderfully. Penn has more than proved his directorial worth.