Into the Wild

Seen on 9-7-2009 - HBO

We were tempted to see it only because its direction as well as screenplay are by Sean Penn. The cynical derisiveness and shunning of man's company, escape into the wilderness of nature, Thoreau-like experiment with total self-reliance and solitude are, in the final analysis, meant to make a point and not to be embraced as a viable way of life. Sean Penn is probably trying to dramatize the failure of Thoreausque vision in this movie. Trapped in the wilderness of Alaska the 23-year old young man meets with a tragic end when it doesn't seem at all necessary.
We sat through the film only because we hoped for something better.