Saturday, September 22, 2007

INTO THE WILD

Sean Penn's bold, ambitious new picture INTO THE WILD is a powerful, artsy travelouge (both spiritual and geographical) of a film with a tour-de-force performance from Emilie Hirsch. I am not prepared to fully get into the film quite yet, as it's still settling in. But for two and a half hours I sat in the Arclight today completely transfixed on the images and words brought to life by Penn, who has taken himself to a new level as a filmmaker. The cinematography by Eric Gautier is ravishing in a very real way and the Terrence Malick-style interludes of self reflection and love for wild nature were extremely captivating. It's certainly one of the best movies of 2007, and is a rare work of art in terms of personal storytelling. It's funny that both this film and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD are both being released this weekend (granted both are in limited release). Both films have many distinct similarities, and it's great to know that some people in Hollywood are taking big, risky chances with intense, adult, and personal subject matter.

More to come...

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