Penn skillfully creates rewarding 'Into the Wild'
"Into the Wild" (two-disc collector's edition) -- If there's any doubt that Sean Penn has the chops necessary to be a major film director, "Into the Wild" should put them to rest. This film, based on the nonfiction book by Jon Krakauer, is beautifully made and acted, with an ending that's a masterpiece of understatement. Emile Hirsch plays Christopher McCandless, a young man from a privileged home who decides after college to abandon his family and live in the Alaskan wilderness. He gives the remainder of his college fund to charity, gasses up his used car and takes off without telling a soul about his plan. He eventually leaves his car behind, too, and hitch-hikes his way up north. Along the way, he befriends a grain farmer (Vince Vaughn, in a distracting cameo) and a childless hippie couple (Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker), but his most meaningful acquaintance is a lonely old man (Hal Holbrook, in an Oscar-nominated performance) who reaches out to Christopher, only to be rebuffed. Nothing will deter Christopher from making it to Alaska. And make it he does. The final act of the movie shows Christopher carving out a solitary life for himself in the beautiful, but unforgiving, wild.
Penn tells this story with grace and restraint. It would be easy to pass judgment on Christopher, whose behavior ranges from self-absorbed to cruel. But Penn remains neutral, and the film is much more challenging, and rewarding, for it. Hirsch does a great job playing Christopher, and Holbrook's performance, while short, will break your heart. Visually, the film is a stunner. Penn eschews attention-grabbing camera work in favor of a classic style that makes the most of the beautiful cinematography. "Into the Wild" is a great film.
The two-disc DVD release includes a pristine presentation of the film and two solid behind-the-scene featurettes. Thankfully, the trailer is also included; I've noticed more DVDs coming out without trailers lately. The extras are a bit light (a Penn commentary would have been fantastic), so if you want to save some money, go with the single-disc release that's also available. (R; Paramount, $39.99)
"My Kid Could Paint That" -- The fascinating thing about "My Kid Could Paint That" is how the subject of this documentary changes before our eyes. It starts as an examination of modern art, then becomes an unsettling (and unfocused) look at celebrity and journalism.
Like many kids her age, Marla Olmstead, a strikingly cute 4-year-old girl from Binghamton, N.Y., likes to paint. Unlike other kids, Marla sells her paintings for thousands of dollars to collectors all over the world. Some critics compare her work to Jackson Pollock's, igniting the long-standing debate about the true value of abstract art. But major media outlets can't wait to get her story, and the prices of Marla's art continue to rise. It is here, when Marla-mania is at its height, that "My Kid Could Paint That" director Amir Bar-Lev arrives on the scene. He shows her being whisked from one news show to another, and we see that Marla's father, Mark, loves the attention she's getting, while her mother, Laura, is a bit worried. Then "60 Minutes II" airs a devastating report about Marla, suggesting not only that she isn't a child prodigy, but also that Mark has coached her at least once and quite possibly might have painted the pictures himself. Mark and Laura go on a crusade to prove that Marla is the sole creator of her paintings, and they openly enlist Bar-Lev's help to vindicate their daughter.
Up to this point, "My Kid Could Paint That" is riveting. But then Bar-Lev, speaking from behind the camera to someone he's interviewing, admits he has doubts about the Olmsteads' story. From then on, the movie focuses on his conflicted feelings about the Olmsteads, and the documentary weakens as a result. Instead of the Olmsteads, Bar-Lev becomes the central figure in the story, and I kept wishing he would butt out. Still, "My Kid Could Paint That" is a compelling film, one that is likely to provoke conversation after the final credits roll. The DVD comes with a commentary and an excellent follow-up featurette that includes deleted scenes and question-and-answer footage of Bar-Lev at screenings. (PG-13; Sony, $24.96)