A heartrending slice of Americana both inspiring and foreboding in its view of a world that will exist long after we are all gone.
Comment
09/20/07
Into the Wild (2007)
82
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:179
Fresh:147
Rotten:32
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: With his sturdy cast and confident direction, Sean Penn has turned a complex work of non-fiction like Into the Wild into an accessible and poignant character study.
Theatrical Release:09-11-2007
Synopsis: Jon Krakauer's bestselling nonfiction book about the life of Chris McCandless is finally brought to the big screen in INTO THE WILD. Directed by Sean Penn, the film opens in 1992, when Chris (Emile... [More]
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone
Director: Sean Penn
Reviews for Into the Wild
161 - 180 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Into the Wild is a bittersweet odyssey of opportunities lost and paradise found.
09/20/07
[T]he extraordinary Emile Hirsch [is] like Leonardo DiCaprio 10 years ago, all coiled intensity and wrapped-up irony...
09/20/07
Penn’s entitled to his reading of McCandless’s story, of course, but envisioning it as a Stations of the Cross with a backpack is bizarre and disrespectful.
09/20/07
Into the Wild represents Penn's most assured and affecting work yet as director and screenwriter, in the wake of The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard and The Pledge.
09/20/07
Darkly observant, the plot makes great art.
09/19/07
Into the Wild will haunt anyone willing to take the trip.
09/19/07
Penn's 140 minute conveyance of the story is rambling and structurally unsteady but every essential ingredient is there, which we put together with a lingering impression of poetry and pain.
09/19/07
What is evident by the film's conclusion is that our sincere and honest relationships with fellow men and women is what makes us human and great; not at all our connection to nature
09/19/07
Way too long and could have easily been trimmed by a good half hour, but it turns a new corner in [Sean Penn's] career as a filmmaker
09/19/07
Penn depicts this flawed figure with all the richness and complexity you'd find in the unforgiving Alaskan terrain, presenting McCandless in both his selflessness and selfishness without once judging him or turning him into a martyr.
09/18/07
Penn's empathy with his driven hero is unmistakable and deeply felt.
09/18/07
A personal film in the best sense of the word.
09/17/07
Into the Wild is all over the place and ultimately, I think, wrongheaded in its attack. But [Director Sean] Penn gives it the good old college try -- or perhaps I should say, the good old society-dropout try.
09/17/07
By the end of the movie, I don't know that I liked Chris, but I understood him and sympathized with him, and sometimes that's more important.
09/17/07
For a story so fraught with potential landmines, Sean Penn, the screenwriter, bridges delicate narrative constraints to fulfill expectations of audiences familiar with Krakauer's book.
09/16/07
Romanticization takes precedence over analysis in Into the Wild, Sean Penn's exasperating adaptation of John Krakauer's nonfiction bestseller.
09/16/07
Into the Wild shows you the way, but lets you choose for yourself. And hippie or no, this trip is absolutely worth the effort.
09/14/07
Even as we feel anger at Chris for hurting his family, or frustration at his choices, or fear for what will happen to him, a part of us has to admire his courage in taking a leap that most of us would never be able to take.
09/07/07
The reason it's so troubling, even disturbing, is that notwithstanding the protagonist's profound goodness, the film insists on consequences for his narcissism, his naivete, his -- yes -- stupidity.
09/06/07
Latest News for Into the Wild
March 27, 2008:
Jay Cassidy on Into the Wild: The RT Interview
Jay Cassidy, editor of critically acclaimed film, Into the Wild, talks to RT about his long term collaboration with Sean Penn and making films in the wilds of Alaska. More...
March 03, 2008:
RT on DVD: Into the Wild, Things We Lost In The Fire, My Kid Could Paint That Arrive
Into the Wild, Sean Penn's lyrical adventure about a young idealist on a cross-country trek, leads new releases this week. More...
February 22, 2008:
Into the Wild's Jay Cassidy Talks Oscar Nomination with RT
Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film, Into the Wild, tells the story of Chris McCandless who hitchhiked into the Alaskan wilderness with tragic consequences. Long time Penn... More...
January 28, 2008:
There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men Top ASC, DGA Awards
Perhaps the ASC and DGA Awards aren't the flashiest ceremonies of the season, but being honored by one's peers is always a cause for celebration, so let's take a moment to... More...
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