Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) has just graduated from Emory University.

His next step is to go to Yale for law school, much to the joy of his overbearing Ivy League parents Billie (Marcia Gay Harden) and Walt (William Hurt).

Disgusted by his family and lost in the world, Christopher decides this modern life is just too much for him. After emptying his trust fund of $24,000, Christopher runs away from home to begin a life of “tramping.”

His one goal: Get to the wild forests of Alaska.

He believes if he can live two years outdoors without technology, cigarettes, sex or lasting companionship, he would truly be one with the wild.

On his journey he meets a fellow “tramping” hippie named Jan (Catherine Keener), a farm worker wanted by the law (Vince Vaughn) and learns lessons of life from an old, gentle man (Hal Holbrook).

Based on the best selling novel by Jon Krakauer, and directed by actor Sean Penn, “Into the Wild” was praised at the Cannes Film Festival and other film festivals, so maybe I expected too much. But, truthfully, I didn’t feel anything.

As acting goes, everyone was quite good, but none of them went beyond the absolute minimum.

Marcia Gay Harden’s interfering, alcoholic mother and William Hurt’s aggressive, insensitive father are not stretched beyond the norm, which is a disappointment coming from two Oscar-winning actors.

And then there’s Emile Hirsch, who does an impressive job playing an angry, self-righteous adolescent. But how hard is that? That’s like asking Hal Holbrook to play a wise, old man – it’s easy when you already are that person. Sometimes when Emile Hirsch is crying, I can see tears; but if I look right in his eyes, I don’t see sadness. No connection to his feeling.

How do we feel about actors directing?

It worked for Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson – both earned Oscars for directing. And sometimes it’s a brilliant move: Clint Eastwood is a good actor and a brilliant director. But the opposite is true for Sean Penn – wonderful actor, but only a decent director.

I liked his previous directorial efforts in “The Pledge,” but this second bout confirms his directing is just so pretentious. Too much time is taken by this film in looking at itself – admiring its own beauty when we should be focusing on plot and characters.

Often camera angles are visually interesting, but serve no purpose in telling or aiding the story or scene. And really, how many close-ups can you have before boredom strikes?

However, this movie is visually brilliant. Similar to “Brokeback Mountain,” the cinematography takes everyday visuals of life and earth by transforming them into something truly spectacular. Sunset as geese fly across the sky; canoeing down the gulf; even the snow in Alaska is haunting in its beauty.

I wonder if reading the novel this is based on would help me better understand this movie. Many questions in the film are not given plausible answers, while many others are left unanswered.

Why can’t he cross the river, or at least try walking further down stream to find another crossing? Why not fish for food? How did he cross the border?

I decided the film really lacks one thing: His horrific family life is talked about but never shown. We are told he can’t escape the woods but never see why, and the “why” is often the most important part of entertainment in general. If we don’t get the why, we cannot care about the who, what and the when.

Best scene: The relationship between Christopher (renaming himself Alex) and Jan (Catherine Keener) is touching. She lets down all her defenses around him, allowing an intimacy and tenderness neither has experienced in quite some time. He is the son she lost, and she is the mother he never had; they both need each other, and in their loneliness they find hope. Easily the most successful part of the film.

Overall: A very detailed adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s novel. But oftentimes, it seems to rely on the audience having read the book. Good, though very safe, performances and adequate directing from Sean Penn. It’s worth seeing, but if you don’t, life will go on.