Into the Wild

Into the Wild is a 2007 Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated film based on the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer about the adventures of Christopher McCandless. It was directed by Sean Penn, who also wrote the screenplay, and stars Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Catherine Keener. It was premiered during the second edition of the Rome Film Feast and a limited release was given on September 21, 2007, and a wide release on October 19 .

Plot

Into the Wild tells the adventures of Christopher McCandless, a top student at Emory University and an athlete. After graduating, McCandless decides to give $24,000 of his savings account to OXFAM and later, to burn all the money in his wallet. He hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wild. During his adventure, he encounters several unique people that change his life before he faces the dangers of wilderness.

Cast

* Emile Hirsch - Christopher McCandless
* Marcia Gay Harden - Billie McCandless
* William Hurt - Walt McCandless
* Jena Malone - Carine McCandless
* Catherine Keener - Jan Burres
* Vince Vaughn - Wayne Westerberg
* Zach Galifianakis - Kevin
* Kristen Stewart - Tracy
* Hal Holbrook - Ron Franz
* Steven Wiig - Ranger Steve Koehler

Filming

The scenes of graduation from Emory College in the film were shot in the fall of 2006 on the front lawn of Reed College. Some of the graduation scenes were also filmed during the actual Emory University graduation on May 15, 2006. The Alaska scenes depicting the area around the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail were filmed in Cantwell, Alaska, a town forty miles southeast of the actual site. The production made four separate trips to Alaska in order to film during different seasons.

Critical reception

Into the Wild received positive reviews from critics. As of December 31, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 83% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 155 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 73 out of 100, based on 38 reviews.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and described the film as "spellbinding." Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", saying "It is great acting, and more than acting." Ebert said "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director," Sean Penn.

The American Film Institute listed the film as an AFI Movie of the Year for 2007.

National Board of Review named it the Top Ten Films of the Year.

Awards

Wins

* 65th Golden Globe Awards
o Best Original Song - Motion Picture ("Guaranteed")

* Gotham Awards
o Best Feature Film

* Mill Valley Film Festival
o Best Actor (Emile Hirsch)

* National Board of Review
o Breakthrough Performance - Male (Emile Hirsch)

* Palm Springs International Film Festival
o Director of the Year Award (Sean Penn)
o Rising Star Award Actor (Emile Hirsch)

* Rome Film Feast
o Jury Award (William Pohlad), (Art Linson), (Sean Penn)

* São Paulo International Film Festival
o Best Foreign Language Film (Sean Penn)

Nominations

* 80th Academy Awards
o Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook)
o Best Film Editing

* 65th Golden Globe Awards
o Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder)

* American Cinema Editors
o Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic

* Broadcast Film Critics Association
o Best Film
o Best Actor (Emile Hirsch)
o Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook)
o Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener)
o Best Director (Sean Penn)
o Best Writer (Sean Penn)
o Best Song ("Guaranteed")

* Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
o Best Picture
o Best Screenplay - Adapted (Sean Penn)
o Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook)

* Directors Guild of America Awards
o Best Director - Film (Sean Penn)

* Cinema Audio Society
o Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures

* Costume Designers Guild Awards
o Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Contemporary

* Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
o Best Foreign Film - English Language (Sean Penn)

* Grammy Awards
o Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("Guaranteed")

* Gotham Awards
o Breakthrough Award (Emile Hirsch)

* Satellite Awards
o Best Original Song ("Rise")

* Screen Actors Guild Awards
o Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
o Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Emile Hirsch)
o Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Hal Holbrook)
o Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Catherine Keener)

* USC Scripter Award
o USC Scripter Award (Sean Penn) (screenwriter), (Jon Krakauer) (author)

* Writers Guild of America Awards
o Best Adapted Screenplay (Sean Penn)