Title: Excellent, taken with a grain of salt
Review: "Into the Wild", based on a true story, is a fine film with some fundamental flaws. Christopher Johnson McCandless, leaves a comfortable environment to live on his own and to seek his own destiny. He wanders through South Dakota, Arizona and California before eventually finding Alaska, where everything changes.Sean Penn's film is often heart-wrenching but it dwells too much on platitudes. Added to that, Christopher seems unusually too well-equipped for the realties of the harsh life portrayed. He gets into some scrapes, mischief and trouble but often comes out looking better than he has any right to do. That said, "Into the Wild" is worth viewing for one main reason...the gratifying performance of Emile Hirsch. This young actor is terrific and keeps the viewer's eye on him all the time. I can't think of another actor who is better suited for this role and I recommend "Into the Wild" for this performance alone.
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