Stanko's Stance

Director: Sean Penn
Writers: Sean Penn, Jon Krakauer
Staring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener
Streaming: Netflix
Release Date: October 19, 2007

Let me get this out of the way. I did not read the book. I think I was assigned too in high school or middle school…and I just did not.

Into The Wild, well it went into my feels. Following a long with the growth and journey of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) touched my emotions, as it did many others when this movie first came out in 2007.

Not knowing this was based off a true story and not knowing that Christopher McCandless dies at the end made this journey even more traumatizing for me. It is heartbreaking to see his own mistake doom him. The debate I know is that people would question whether his mistake was taking a stand for what he wanted to do and putting himself in a dangerous situation, or if it was an honest mistake of not knowing a root despite studying for everything.

This movie was incredible.

• I find it very funny how the tagline for the Into The Wild is “Lose Yourself”, which everyone knows from Eminem in 8 Mile (2002). Also Into The Wild is NOTHING like a rap song.
• The only thing I knew Emily Hirsch from was The Girl Next Door (2004), but man this proved that he could act a bit! Caught me off guard without a doubt. The balance of the movie was him because he was literally there every second of it.
• Hal Holbrook, the old man near the end of Into The Wild, got nominated for an Oscar…but Hirsch didn’t? Looking at the nominees for actors in a leading role, we have Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood), George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley Of Elah) and Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises). I have not seen an In The Valley Of Elah or Eastern Promises, but I for sure think that Hirsch deserved it over Depp.
• It is hard not to be inspired by Into The Wild.

Stanko Rating: B+ (4.0/5 Stars)

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