Into the Wild: a poetic meditation on freedom

October 21, 2007

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Once every couple of years, there comes a movie that is both unapologetically soulful and offers a gentle philosophical take on one of the timeless myths and human tendencies. In Sean Penn’s latest film, the trick is that the full implications of the myth and of the thing that drives the protagonist are not fully driven home and illustrated until the last act.

Based on a book by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild follows Christopher McCandless, a young college graduate who decides to abandon his worldly possessions in order to pursue the Thoreauvian dream and live “in the moment” in the wilderness. Believing that career is a “20th century invention,” McCandless subscribes to myths spun by Jack London and Jack Kerouac instead and sets out to Alaska to experience natural life in all its immediacy. In a rare cinematic opportunity, we are taken along with him, thanks to fine cinematography, a colourful array of characters along the way, and an excellent portrayal of the movie’s protagonist by young actor Emile Hirsch. One scene that stands out in particular is McCandless killing a moose. It both vividly illustrates an intimate aspect of living in the wild and provides an almost existential moment-to-moment take on the newly discovered aspect of the character.

As the story unfolds and the passionate dharma bum meets several interesting individuals, the inner workings of his desires and drives are gradually revealed to us: it is not simply the bliss of freedom that he is after, but also permanent escape from his parents (played beautifully and without much dialogue by Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt). At one point, McCandless even decides to give up his family name and give himself a new one, one more in tune with the lifestyle he has chosen for himself: Alexander Supertramp. A gesture that perhaps signals that it is the symbolic value rather than the intrinsic ideals of eastern philosophy that compels him to keep going further into the wilderness.

He meets a hippie couple (Brian Dieker and Catherine Keener), a sharp contrast to his own parents, who are left saddened by his departure since he reminds them of the son they lost. A girl who is a romantic interest and a friend is also left behind heartbroken. Finally, in what is probably the most galling scene in the movie, an old man he meets and makes friends with, played by the perfectly cast Hal Holbrook, realizes what it is that ultimately drives McCandless as they say goodbye in their final scene together.

Even though Holbrook’s character is probably the anchor for the viewer’s sympathy, the movie is very kind to other characters as well, even McCandless’ parents, especially as it progresses to the final scene. If it is occasionally judgmental of McCandless, it certainly does not allow the audience to walk away feeling unsympathetic, ultimately revealing him as a child who must submit himself to prolonged periods of utter solitude to discover and feel the human value behind a simple cliché that most people learn the easy way.

Into the Wild is a gentle meditation on the poetry of the road and the extent to which personal philosophy is coloured by our own bruised sensibilities (some people don’t feel they deserve to be loved, says McCandless to the aging hippie at one point) and the drive to be free, primarily free of emotional attachment to people. It explores the thin line between idealism and escapism, freedom from and responsibility to others, and the degree to which our tendency to sleepwalk through our choices can sneak up on the ideal of living in the wild.

A job well done, Mr. Penn.

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