A young man fresh out of college takes a sharp left across the United States in the early 90s in the 2007 movie "Into the Wild," a film that throws viewers back and forth through time worse than a Tarantino film but with greater impact on the emotions.  A semi-epic, somewhat re-used and yet powerful telling of a real life backpacker.

Sean Penn's biographical drama(adapted from Jon Krakauer's 1996 book) tells the story of Chris McCandless(aka Alexander Supertramp as he calls himself in the story)--with assisted narration by McCandless' sister--as he tries to escape the stale and suffocating aspects of his life--just after college--in order to find what is real and TRUE in life itself by trekking westward across the United States on route to reach the Alaskan wilderness.

McCandless(Emile Hirsch) acts out like a repressed child of his parents'(William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden) complicated marriage and a hippy of 60s fame in how he becomes anti-establishment and materialistic, risking it all to get in touch with the world around him.  His attitude/actions/personality is symptomatic of being stuffed into books and studies of which--though they feed his mind and his words--do not help him solve the matters of his reality.  So, to an extent only short of unbelievable luck, he relies on his impulsive decisions and book smarts to survive.  [I say unbelievable luck because some of the events that take place--the people who help him along the way and his avoidance of hazards--seem unexplained and somewhat inconceivable when considering the tragedies that occur in this world almost daily.  In that, the film seems dated in the time that it does take place.  Good or bad.

Along the way to Alaska, "Supertramp" meets a string of wandering souls who help him and in turn he helps as well.  A motor-home hippy couple(Catherine Keener of "40 Year Old Virgin" hippy-personality fame, Brian Dierker) who at one point try to hook him up with a young up-and-coming/wannabe pop star(Kristen Stewart), a farmer(surprise appearance of party animal Vince Vaughn in a dramatic role) and an old man(Hal Holbrook who has done film work with classics such as Tom Sawyer which may be referenced as being further inclusion/insight into the mentality of McCandless who treats such authors as Thoreau and London as his Bible writers) who gradually falls into McCandless' dreamy philosophy of reaching for the "impossible dream" among others.

[On a personal note, the scene/s in which "Supertramp" is confronted with temptations to be tied back and not complete his goal--namely the young songstress--I ask you.  If you were McCandless, what would YOU do in that situation?  Personally, from the looks of the girl and the time in his life/trek, I would be quite tempted to fall into her/it.  Music has strange powers sometimes.  I think of the sirens of myth.  But, in the end, I know why he makes his eventual decision.]

Overall, this film is very powerful in the emotions it inflicts.  Though it flips back and forth enough to throw a few for a moment--including myself--the overall feeling you get no matter how much you see in the moment tells the story.  And, the end tells all.  There is only one or two out of character moments--namely a small scene with an apple--in which the movie seems to lose focus of being a biography and turns into a camcorder show.  Other than that, this was a surprisingly worthy investment which may surely bring a tear to even the "strongest" man. 

A decent date movie for the lovers of travel and anti-materialism.  A drama with enough diversity to not be overwhelmingly "weepy" or dull.  Rated R(includes some minor violence and at least one outright nude scene) and just under 2 1/2 hours long.  On a scale of 4 stars, I give it 3.

http://www.intothewild.com/