Into the Wild (2007)

Emile Hirsch is wonderful. He plays Chris McCandless, this privileged kid yearning for -- and going after -- a life that's different than the one for which he's been groomed since birth, and he gets it just right. The mixture of arrogance and humility, of charm and self-righteous cruelty comes alive on the screen.

Despite that, the film is seriously flawed. It's too long by at least half an hour and the overwrought narration, courtesy of Chris's little sister (Jenna Malone), is both annoying and poorly written. Just like with Garfield, sometimes silence is more profound.

Read the book!

C+