The 2007 film Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, is based on a true event that happened in April of 1992.  The story is about Christopher Mccandless, played by Emile Hirsch. Christopher was a privileged boy raised by wealthy parents.  Although he had anything he ever needed in life, he didn’t quite feel satisfied.  His parents cared more about materialistic things, and he felt angry at them for that.  Christopher felt somewhat forgotten and neglected, so shortly after his college graduation, he ventured off on a road trip, telling nobody of his travel plans.  It was apparent that he didn’t want to be found by anyone after burning his social security card and leaving everything he knew with no warning.

He traveled all around the United States, mostly by hitching rides from random strangers he met along the way or hopping on cargo trains.  He made his way up to Alaska, where he set off on his own two feet into the wilderness.  Somewhere along the way, Chris came across an abandoned bus fit to be his home for the remainder of his adventure.  After four months of living totally off the grid, Chris decided he had found himself and it was time to go home.  But on his way back, he found his only way home was blocked by a huge rushing river, impossible to cross.  He trudged back to his bus to reevaluate his plan, but soon became weaker and lost his ability to gather his own food.  Chris died shortly after from both starvation and accidentally eating a poisonous plant.

Emile Hirsch does a wonderful job playing Christopher Mccandless’ character.   He must have been extremely dedicated to his role in this movie because by the end of the movie, he looks totally malnourished, as Chris was in real life.  The way Chris’ journey is shown is made totally believable.  The movie follows the actual story very well.  The relationships made as the movie progresses are portrayed really well.  You can really understand the connection Chris makes with everyone and you can feel their heartbreak when he decides to leave.  I enjoyed how the movie shows even the small details like the amateur mistakes Chris makes on his adventure.  For example, forgetting boots and a winter coat when he knew he would somehow end up in Alaska.  It really captures how Chris really didn’t know much about what he was getting himself into.  He had never had any prior experience with this type of “camping.”

The only complaint I have about the movie is that it jumped around a lot from when Chris was in Alaska to when he was just road tripping around the States to before he even set out on the journey.  I, personally, have not read to book, but I have heard from people who have that the movie is easier to watch once you have read it.  The movie leaves out a few key details that make it easier to understand where Chris is coming from and how the whole story unfolds.  Because of that, the whole story was kind of hard to follow at times.

I would honestly recommend this movie to anyone, especially people who love films based on true events or documentaries.  The entire story is just a little bizarre.  The film is very emotional and really makes the viewer think about what was going through the heads of each character at the time. Into the Wild is definitely on my list of favorite movies.