Kristen Stewart » Filmography » Into the Wild (2007)

INTO THE WILD Release Date: September 21st, 2007 MPAA Rating: R Kristen's Role: Tracy Also Starring: Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener Directed by: Sean Penn Produced by: John J. Kelly (II), Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker Screenplay by: Sean Penn Based on the book by: Jon Krakauer Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama and Adaptation Running Time: 2 hrs. 20 min. Distributors: Paramount Vantage U.S. Box Office: $18,427,795

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Freshly graduated from college with a promising future, 22 year-old Christopher McCandless instead walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people. Was Christopher McCandless a heroic adventurer or a naive idealist, a rebellious 1990s Thoreau or another lost American son, a fearless risk-taker or a tragic figure who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature? McCandless' quest took him from the wheat fields of South Dakota to a renegade trip down the Colorado River to the non-conformists' refuge of Slab City, California, and beyond. Along the way, he encountered a series of colorful characters at the very edges of American society who shaped his understanding of life and whose lives he, in turn, changed. In the end, he tested himself by heading alone into the wilds of the great North, where everything he had seen and learned and felt came to a head in ways he never could have expected.

A teenaged singer who lived her whole life in The Slabs, Tracy takes an immediate liking to Chris and he in turn finds himself drawn to her when he thought he needed nothing but the open road and nature to sustain him. Though she attempts to seduce him, they settle for a close friendship in the end, and she is left heartbroken as his restless nature drives him to move along his journey and leave her behind.

"Sean shoots a lot. A lot of our stuff isn’t done in blocks of scenes. It’s like a montage. You have to create those moments from the beginning but there’s a lot of just me and Emile hanging out."

"Music is one of the most emotionally expressive things you can do. If I’m not feelin’ it, I can’t sing. Those two nights [where she sings for a crowd in the film], something was going on. It’s not always you can give that much. But, yeah, it’s intimidating."

"I think [Emile's character Chris] becomes a lot of different things. I talk to a lot of people who have read the book who are just super frustrated or there are people who actually felt a strong connection with him and could relate to what pushed him to do what he did but, ultimately, they are frustrated with decisions that he made, what he could have done differently. What I like about the movie is it comes full circle. At the end, what pushed him in the beginning, he doesn’t necessarily agree with at the end. He’s brave, not just brave though. It definitely says something about the way he was brought up. I relate to him on many different levels. I just don’t know if I’d be pushed to do something as radical as what he does."

"I cared a lot about the scenes we had to do. It’s short and sweet but kind of packed. There’s a lot in it. Emile is one of the most confident actors I’ve ever worked with."

"[Sean Penn]’s a man of few words but just the most communicative. There’s a very unspoken thing about him. You are all there for the same reason, all invested and it’s very clear that’s all a part of his grand plan. He always says that he doesn’t pull performances out of actors but he puts you somewhere where you are comfortable enough with yourself to be able to give that much. It’s not always like that on set. You’re not always too clear about the story you are telling or who you’re playing or the other actors that you’re with but it was very cohesive. He’s the most gentle guy. It’s easy to give him what he wants. You have a driving force. He cares so much about it. He told me, 'I specifically want you.' He hires people that he trusts. You can’t lie to Sean. He was good at clearing your head."

"Sequences are gorgeously filmed by cinematographer Eric Gautier, and they're heady with the joy of discovery -- they make you want to hit the road into the magnificent landscape we forget is out there."

-- Ty Burr | Boston Globe (Full Review)

"Hirsch, who carries the film on his increasingly emaciated shoulders, performs heroically, but there's an edge missing."

-- David Ansen | Newsweek (Full Review)

"Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is certainly visual -- it’s entirely too visual, to the point of being cheaply lyrical."

-- David Denby | The New Yorker (Full Review)

"Sean Penn's spellbinding film adaptation of this book stays close to the source."

-- Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times (Full Review)