I know several people whose opinions I respect that have loved this film and even rate it among their favourites, but having read the book and now having seen the movie I’m still at the same conclusion, that Chris McCandless was at times an insufferable prick who believed he was some divine combination of Thoreau and Jack London. He didn’t deserve to die for this stupidity (many his age think they're indestructible) but he doesn’t deserve to be mythologised either. Sean Penn’s script and direction shows how little of an actual story there is here, as he ends up relying on montages of scenery set to music and voiceover to fill space. (The book had a similar problem - there’s…

Review from my VOD column "This Week on Demand"

Since debuting as a director with 1991’s The Indian Runner, Sean Penn has gone on to prove himself perhaps as talented behind the camera as he is before it, emerging every few years to deliver a measured and ultimately magnificent tale of isolated individuals on the fringes of society. Into the Wild, his latest such effort, concerns the true-life tale of Christopher McCandless, a privileged college graduate whose disillusionment with modern society led him to give up his possessions and wander the United States in search of something more meaningful in life. Aided by a breathtaking soundtrack by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Penn finds immense beauty in his panoramic landscape shots…

There's something kinda surreal about seeing "Directed by Sean Penn" attached to a film. A lot of actors usually decide at some point in their careers that they want to go behind the camera after they work for some time and there's always some sort of intrigue to it. You'd think that no one would no better how to tell actors how to act than actors, but you'd be surprised how many bad films were made by actors (cough...Harlem Nights by Eddie Murphy...cough). Still, there is always a level of intrigue to seeing how they perform as directors, especially with such a celebrated actor like Sean Penn making the jump. Surprisingly, much like he does with his acting, he passes…

This movie has a spirit that is hard to deny. It beautifully designed cinematography. It's got some excellent performances. - and here's where the BUT comes in - It's got some very strange ideas about how a movie should BE. I get what Penn is going for by making this story a kind of coming of age/isn't the wild great/road movie/lifetime melodrama. But you lose a lot of interesting questions and concepts buried in the story.

First off, this idea of a troubled home life destroying these kids and painting their parents as terrible liars that don't understand their kids and have an awful relationship. Wouldn't it have been interesting and intelligent to get into how odd his choice of…

Part adventure film, part familial drama, and part tragedy but an utterly beautiful film. With some wonderfully restraint direction from Sean Penn, Into The Wild is a poignant study about a young man who tries to flee the emotional shackles that was put upon him by a superficial society and pedantic parents who are equally disgusted with their own lives.

Emile Hirsch brings Christopher McCandless to life with a ferocious verve that balances naivety, sensitivity and intellect with perfect synchronicity. It's just a shame that his wonderfully judged performance was criminally ignored for an Oscar nomination. It's rare for a film that is an adaptation of a true life event to be treated with such intelligence and skill without resorting…

"...you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things."

This is a movie that connects with my inner dreams. I've always wanted to see if I could live alone in the wild and seeing someone's journey of just that was incredible. When I saw this movie, I think the after effect on me is better than the movie. only few movies can get me to feel the way I feel now. I love it and I was surprised that I'd get a very…