Into the Wild — Movie Review
There is pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not the man less, but the Nature more…..
The movie starts with this quote from Lord Byron, coupled with melancholic tunes of violin (i think?). The music misleads you into thinking this is a movie that will put you at ease, while also preparing you for the mesmerizing soundtrack and sound-editing throughout.
The opening scenes jump from an emotionally distraught elderly couple, who the audience will later recognize as the protagonist’s parents, to the busy life and noise of an urban city. The next drastic jump of scenery introduces us to the wilderness our main character strives to connect with: backdrop of white snow, rugged landscape, wild animals, green trees and a beautifully unreliable river. The visuals and the wild imagery coax you to fall in love with the wild, just like Chris.
To be honest, I really did not want to watch this movie.
My exams had just ended, I was waiting for sehri and browsing around pirated movie websites for something to watch when I came across this movie. It had been recommended to me countless time but the premise never caught my attention. A survival movie featuring a guy’s self-reflections? Seen that a dozen times — from Cast Away to 127 Hours. Into the Wild turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.
The intriguing twist to this particular movie is the intent of our protagonist’s actions. He isn’t thrown away into a situation; he voluntarily drives himself to it. Why, I wonder? Why is this dude crossing a freezing river and hunting in this snow strewn forest? Matlab, aisee kya musibat parh gayi hai? Is there a method to this madness? At this point, I realized there was going to be some mindblowing revelation in the form of a backstory so I just hoped it would be well depicted and convincing.
Initially, I found Emile Hirsche to be an unremarkable actor. Perhaps it had something to do with how I found his character slightly annoying — exceedingly pretentious and self-absorbed. He grows on you though. The movie tries hard to make you fall in love with the enigma that is Chris and all the idiosyncrasies of his character. To an extent, it succeeds. We really want him to cross that damn river and reunite with his friends and family.
The director, Penn, establishes his character as a fact: a resourceful voyager seeking escape from the ‘poison of civilization’. He then gradually shows the viewers how Chris acquires the skills to survive the wild, and what the motives behind his hunger for wilderness were.
Mr. Franz was my favourite character and I wish he got more screen time. His character subtly voiced out the concerns I had with Chris’s ideology especially regarding his disdain for human connection among other things. “Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don’t want one”. Shut up Chris. Alexander Supertramp is a lovable adventurer, Chris McCandless is downright intolerable at times. He burns money (wtf?).
There seem to be some contradictions within his character. He is an idealist and a romantic but is he also a bit self-absorbed, stubborn and selfish? Is his need to seek out wilderness stemming from pure motives or is there an underlying need to punish his parents for what they subjected him to? Is the fear of human interaction a sign of maturity or immaturity? I’d bet my money on the latter. Chris breaks many hearts along the way as he insists on getting to Alaska.
The movie has an unusual yet engaging structure. We start off with where Chris ends up, we get a glimpse of his graduation — the time right before he decided to disappear after donating all his savings— and then we are allowed to peel back further layers of his past to understand his motives better while simultaneously we cut back and forth between his journey to Alaska.
Aside from a few questionable slow motion shots sprinkled throughout, the movie is consistently well directed with seemingly great respect and regard for the source material.
“Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness, give me truth.”
The pivotal reveal of Chris’ backstory is that he grew up in an abusive household with his parents stuck in a vicious cycle of fighting, almost getting divorced yet making up each time because appearances matter to them. His dad, aside from being an asshole who was married before he married Chris’ mother, is also violent towards Mrs. McCandless. What I personally found unnerving was how Chris placed equal blame on both his parents even though it was clear that his mother was also a victim in the whole situation. I suppose one can’t question how an individual processes their trauma but the way he treated his mom felt slightly unfair when all she did was adapt to the situation she was thrust into.
“Happiness only real when shared”
The reason why this movie ultimately works for me is because it sticks the landing. The closing scenes are heartbreaking but the perfect end to this journey. While the movie itself depicts a giddy longing for the wild and open spaces, towards the end Chis comes to realize the importance of human connection as he longs to be in the arms of his parents while taking his last breaths. Though it appears to be a naive, idealistic tale at first, the movie’s ultimate message is a lot more complex and nuanced. It is a grand, epic tale of carefree adventure which convinces the viewers that life is full of endless possibilities while affirming that true happiness is only real if shared with those around you. ❤