River City Writer

Well, my fellow Edmontonians, it’s started. We’re going to work in the dark, and it won’t be long before it’s dark when we’re coming home, too. The long dark of an Alberta winter is creeping up on us. This means that it’s soon going to be time to hide away in the theatres (home theatres included) where it’s warm.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again: Edmontonians reportedly watch more movies, per capita, than any other city in North America. I’m hardly an exception to this rule, so I’ll likely be writing a lot of movie reviews over the coming months.

I’ll start with Into the Wild, the movie I saw this past weekend.

Into the Wild is based on a best selling book by Jon Krakauer, about Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch)—a young man who decides to buck the rules of society, and go live off of the land in Alaska.

Along the way, he travels around America, meets a couple of hippies who become like a surrogate family to him (though, he never quite lets them get that close to him); a farm boss who becomes one of the few friends he seems to have in life; and an old man who has sealed himself off from the world until Chris comes into his life.

That synopsis does a huge disservice to the film, and McCandless’ story, so let me give you a greater rundown.

It’s a journey of self-discovery, as much as it is a rebellion against his parents and their materialistic approach to life. It’s also a surprisingly selfish journey, in many ways. Chris cuts off all contact with his family (and most of the world).

It’s understandable that he would cut ties with his parents, given some of the revelations we are shown about his childhood, but his decision to remain remote from his sister is at odds with his supposed reasons for leaving the family. It hints at the selfishness of what he is doing.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I will say that self-discovery ultimately leads to realizations of what is and is not important in life. There is a certain sense of redemption for more than one character, though it’s pointed out more obviously than it needs to be.

It’s based on a true story, but it’s still a story, and the ending would likely have had a greater impact had it been told less forcefully.

Despite the slight problem with the ending, it was a very good film. If I were giving this movie a starred review, I’d be tempted to give it 5 out of 5, but I think the ending brings it down to about a 4.5.

There were also a couple of points where Hirsch looks directly into the camera, which does little other than to make it very obvious that this is we’re watching a film. It’s likely meant to draw us into Chris’ personal world, but, for me, the only effect it had was to take me out of the film.

Because of these weaknesses, I wouldn’t rate Into the Wild higher than 4 out of 5. That is, of course, still an very good rating. I enjoyed Into the Wild a lot, and I highly recommend that you go check it out.

Into the Wild is currently playing at the Garneau Theatre (8712-109 Street).