Into the Wild

Filmmaker Sean Penn's adaptation of Jon Krakauer's nonfiction bestseller of the same name tells the story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a Thoreau-obsessed young man who abandoned his upper-middle-class family and law school prospects for life as a self-styled “supertramp,” ultimately winding up in what he saw as a kind of personal paradise—the uninhabited wilderness of Alaska—where he spent months in an ecstatic solitude, before finding himself stranded in the spring thaw. On a purely visual level, Into the Wild is spectacular, with gorgeously filmed locations ranging from the wide wheat fields of the upper Midwest to the regal mountains of the Southwest, as well as the beautiful and isolated Alaskan wilds. And many of the characters Chris encounters on his journey—including a South Dakota rogue, an aging hippie couple, and an elderly widower (Hal Holbrook, in an Oscar-nominated role) who befriends the sojourner just before his Alaskan trip—are both engaging and nicely played. Unfortunately, the family McCandless leaves behind (William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone)—and to whom the movie periodically returns—is one-dimensional, while Chris himself, despite Hirsch's deeply committed performance, remains not only obstinately opaque, but even a bit selfish and unsympathetic. Still, despite its flaws, one cannot help but admire Into the Wild's artistry. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this “2-disc collector's edition” include a 22-minute featurette on “The Story, The Characters,” a 17-minute production featurette on “The Experience,” and trailers. Bottom line: a fairly small extras package for a double-disc collector's edition.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Jan. 6, 2009—Paramount, 148 min., R, $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2007's Into the Wild features an excellent transfer and a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are identical to the previous DVD release, including a 22-minute featurette on “The Story, The Characters,” a 17-minute production featurette on “The Experience,” and trailers. Bottom line: still a small extras package for a fine film with spectacular outdoor footage that shines on Blu-ray.]