Into The Wild

I saw this film on TV. It was directed by Sean Penn and released in 2007. It is based on the life Christopher McCandless who, after graduating, went off into the wilder parts of the USA to escape the materialistic and professional world of his parents. The film is recounted in voice-over by his sister, who knew very little of his life because he cut off all communication with his family. This may seem unsatisfactory but it works. We see many 'Marlborough Man' stereotypes living in caravans and working on farms.

Towards the end he meets and elderly man, played by Hal Holbrook, who comes to want to adopt him. Holbrook won several best supporting actor awards for his part. There is much beautiful camera-work, some of it slightly tricksy , with use of split frame and freeze frame. The film starts at the point where McCandless comes across an abandoned bus, which he temporarily adopts as a home. The film then moves chronologically forwards while flashing-back to the parts of his travels before the bus.

McCandless finally died of starvation at the age of 23 and his body was discovered a couple of weeks after his death. McCandless's story inspired a written account by Jon Krakauer, and it is on this that the film is based. This account has some misunderstandings, including the false notion that McCandless died after eating poison berries.

This is a moving and deeply-committed film and Sean Penn is to be respected for having made it.