365 Days. 365 Films.

Sean Penn directs this true story about a young man who, upon graduating, gives all his money and possessions to charity to live in the wild. With him he takes only the essentials for survival including several books on how to survive in the wilderness.

I did enjoy this film for what it was and I thought that the direction was stunning, however I was not in a great state of being when I watched it which made it easier to pick out faults along with my cohorts. After watching this in the state we were in, besides some continuity confusion, Into The Wild got away with minor surface scratches and so deserving of its rating.

I have to set aside a small paragraph for Emile Hirsch – our protagonist, Chris McCandless – whose performance in this was impeccable. For a film with not a great deal going on narratively, he did liven up the atmosphere in most of the ‘quieter’ scenes and so it’s definitely worth watching for his performance. I would say, however, that it is a bit of an effort to watch because of the length of the film and because not a lot happens – it’s easy to get bored if you’re in the wrong mood – but try to give it a chance because if you do, you will love it.

Just don’t watch it while you're hungover…