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Rate-a-Trailer: Into the Wild

Mon., Jul. 2, 2007 10:28 AM PDT by Caroline Kepnes

Hold the iPhone. As our culture becomes more and more about tricked-out cell phones, director Sean Penn bitch-slaps us with a movie about a guy who flips off society and heads for the woods. And that guy is Emile Hirsch, who is my personal choice for new Hollywood It boy. (Sorry, Shia LaBeouf, but Emile just seems way tougher and moodier.)

Anyway, this trailer could be straight out of Great Trailers for Dummies. The story doesn't play second fiddle to an overused pop anthem. And the voice-over is just enough. This movie knows what it is—it's a drama about one man's quest to live his own life. Jon Krakauer, who penned the original book and cowrote the screenplay with Penn, oughta be walking on air. So, here's the easy step-by-step on why this is trailer magic:

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com

Part One—Hero Deals with His Materialistic Parents: Wild is instantly relatable, thanks to an opening shot where well-intentioned parents William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden offer to buy their kid (Hirsch) a car. Hirsch looks less than thrilled. Already, we know this is a movie about a kid who isn't gonna be satisfied with the usual trappings.

Part Two—Hero Is So Way Happier When He's Out in the Wild: A well-written and well-delivered voice-over plays as we get to watch our hero take off on an empty highway and brave the rapids. We see just enough to get a sense of what this character is all about.

Part Three—Hero Cuts Himself Off from Society: Who isn't titillated at the sight of a man slicing his Social Security card in half and burning cash, especially in these neurotic, identity-obsessed times? Such a great hook.

Part Four—Everyone Tries to School the Hero: And when everyone includes raspy-voiced Catherine Keener, you really can't help but listen. Still, our hero resists and resolves to go to Alaska.

Part Five—Hero Gets Drunk with a Crazy Guy Who Probably Will Be a Big Part of His Life: And when the crazy guy is Vince Vaughn you can't help but listen. Especially when you're aware that Penn is really a talented director, because look at that, Vince Vaughn is not doing Vince Vaughn. Holy moly, he's acting! About a week ago, a friend of mine spotted Vince walking down the street in Burbank with a big, joyous smile on his face. Now I get it. Vince should be doing nothing but smiling; his work here looks nuanced. Coach Penn must be really good.

Part Six—Hero Lets Us into His Heart: Perfect timing to see our leading man at one with nature, telling us in voice-over about what he's read, why he is the way he is.

Part Seven—The S--t Hits the Fan: Now we see the girl troubles, the family troubles, the barking dog, the concerned Keener, the looming animals, the near slips into the rapids. Oh man, I am so counting the days till Wild opens.