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In Reply to: RE: Into the Wild posted by jamesgarvin on July 26, 2009 at 19:59:34
I didn't think it was a very good film because it was played a little too cool. I never thought much was revealed about him so it just seemed a self-indulgent, drifting kid: nothing exceptional about him except he died during one of his "stunts." Kind of a slow-motion "Jackass" stunt.
Hirsch I found unobjectionable and that was the problem. Sure, perhaps that's what the guy was like but this is not a documentary: it's got to have some drama. It didn't have enough, if any.
Keener, as usual, is magnificent.
What a national treasure and it's a crime of the first magnitude that she's so underutilized.
Follow Ups:
One of my biggest problems was that there was very little insight into who he was and why he had trouble with society or his parents. That was basically a given in the movie and it wasn't for me. Thus, all of the things that followed seemed mostly stupid although well intentioned.
"I never thought much was revealed about him so it just seemed a self-indulgent, drifting kid:"
Certainly not drifting. He was a product of a very solid upbringing. I thought his thoughts as revealed in his journals contained a very well thought out philosophy, however misguided, that society, jobs, and structure ruined mankind by making him feel safe and strong, when he was not really strong, only comfortable. He was not avoiding work, because he worked virtually everywhere he went, and worked for food.
"nothing exceptional about him except he died during one of his "stunts." Kind of a slow-motion "Jackass" stunt."
I am not sure I would classify his travels as a 'stunt.' The folks of Jacksass perform stunts for commerce, and as a competition against each other to determine who can abuse their bodies the most. McCandless, on the other hand, was competing against himself, following his belief that he could exist without other peoplem, and his philosophy that society killed in men the urge to be what they could really be. He burns his money, and turns his back on the priviledge that was his. Naive, perhaps. Reckelss, certainly. But certainly not a stunt.
One of the things I liked about Penn's story is that Penn places some hints about this kid in the film. His asking the ranch hand in Montana about how to dress killed game. His reliance on a book about edible plants. At the end of the day, McCandless had the knowledge, but not the experience.
"Sure, perhaps that's what the guy was like but this is not a documentary: it's got to have some drama. It didn't have enough, if any."
I think you have to factor in the family. At the end of the film, Penn thanks the family for their courage, and their willingness to essentially relive the events of their son's death. By all accounts, McCandless' family is still very distraught and grieving over his demise. I think adding false drama to make the film more entertaining insults their memories, and Penn seems sensitive to the family.
I think Hirsch chose to play McCandless as a starry eyed, ideological kid who is looking for adventure, and to make his view of the world work. I cannot criticize someone for making a legitimate choice, in light of his performance at the end of the story when death was near. His acting in that last act goes well beyond him looking like a skeleton.
by your own admission, the family.
Admission? I am speculating. The story itself contains pleny of drama for me, and needs no artificial sweetening. I think Penn apparently felt the same way. Sometimes a story and a person and their story are so compelling there need be no additional fluff to satisfy the crowd that requires help along the way. In other words, remedial filmmaking.
Braveheart dramatized. Perhaps that is what you are looking for.
"Sure, perhaps that's what the guy was like but this is not a documentary: it's got to have some drama. It didn't have enough, if any."
I'd disagree about a film having to be dramatic.
For me and others this film was thought provoking and a breath of fresh (Alaskan) air.
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
who ends up starving to death. That seems a rather dramatic event. To portray it as some bad camping experience is to err on the side of caution. His journal only told part of the story, i.e. does one believe what one writes about oneself, wholeheartedly?
Anyhow, glad you enjoyed it. I found the guy and his story self-indulgent and literally pathetic.
"who ends up starving to death. That seems a rather dramatic event."He died very slowly in a very undramatic way, similar to someone with cancer or any other progressive disease.
The story was about the journey, not the destination and if he'd have survived the movie would still have been worth making.
"does one believe what one writes about oneself, wholeheartedly?"
All the characters were interviewed at length so I don't imagine for one second that Penn took the journal at face value.
The impression I had of the main character was of a guy who was very self-centred and who lacked empathy for his family, and whose primary motivation for getting to Alaska was to rebel against his Father and his Father's principles.In that respect I agree with you about his self-indulgence, though I also appreciated his attitude and outlook on life which was thought provoking despite his flawed and naive application.
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
Edits: 07/27/09
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