"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences." Christopher
☆☆☆☆☆ Classic
Into the Wild (2007) is a heartfelt, personal journey into the consequences of the choices we make.
Directed and written by Sean Penn from Jon Krakauer book about the life of Christopher McCandless.
Starring Emile Hirsch, Kristen Stewart, Marcia Gay Harden, Hal Holbrook and Vince Vaughn among many others.
This is a very personal film for its director Sean Penn. Sean explores the inner life of the main character and those he meets along his travels. Penn's film leaves you with deep thoughts about the choices we have made and their aftermath. What I also found astounding was the level of detailed research required for each character, the time, the place and the circumstances. Sean must have spent years getting all the characters and elements correctly as they really happened.
Emile immerses himself completely into his characters psychological and physical journey to attain his ultimate choice in life and having to accept the consequences that come with free will. As an actor I love to explore a character's inner life and found Hirsch's work spot on. Emile's work reminded me of Alain Delon's beautifully disturbing psychological work in René Clément's, Plein Soleil (1960). I have always enjoyed watching Emile, because he is always thinking on camera, having fun and does his characters homework. In the scene below with watch the simple interaction and playfulness he has with Kristen.
