Listening to Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab sing can feel a little like those first few drifting moments after you pop a bedtime melatonin. The edges of the world bleed like watercolors, and your mind weaves new tales from the frayed memories of your day. That makes sense, given that Aftab herself calls nighttime her “biggest source of inspiration.”
A vocalist, composer, and producer who has taken influence from artists as diverse as Billie Holiday, Abida Parveen, and Jeff Buckley, the 39-year-old Aftab has spent her career dreamily eliding the boundaries between jazz,...
A vocalist, composer, and producer who has taken influence from artists as diverse as Billie Holiday, Abida Parveen, and Jeff Buckley, the 39-year-old Aftab has spent her career dreamily eliding the boundaries between jazz,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
Grammy-winning artist Arooj Aftab has announced her new album, Night Reign, out May 31st via Verve Records. As a preview, she’s shared “Raat Ki Rani,” a new song accompanied by a music video directed by actor Tessa Thompson.
The follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed Vulture Prince, Aftab’s next project is a nine-song collection focused on the magic and mystery of the late-night hours and all that can happen after dark. Collaborators include Cautious Clay, Chocolate Genius, and James Francies.
Get Arooj Aftab Tickets Here
In a statement, Aftab shared, “Some nights are for falling in love, some are for solitude and introspection, some are to be annoyed at a forced social gathering — and so go the stories of Night Reign.”
The video marks Thompson’s directorial debut and depicts Aftab in black and white on a film set, before switching to color and cutting away to dreamy footage with a lover.
The follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed Vulture Prince, Aftab’s next project is a nine-song collection focused on the magic and mystery of the late-night hours and all that can happen after dark. Collaborators include Cautious Clay, Chocolate Genius, and James Francies.
Get Arooj Aftab Tickets Here
In a statement, Aftab shared, “Some nights are for falling in love, some are for solitude and introspection, some are to be annoyed at a forced social gathering — and so go the stories of Night Reign.”
The video marks Thompson’s directorial debut and depicts Aftab in black and white on a film set, before switching to color and cutting away to dreamy footage with a lover.
- 4/18/2024
- by Mary Siroky
- Consequence - Music
While the Golden Globes logs in another year without a female directing nominee, it did break a brought in another male-dominated category. “Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir received a nomination for Best Original Score, becoming the first woman in 10 years to be shortlisted in the category. Should she win, she’d be the category’s first solo female winner ever.
Guðnadóttir is only the eighth female nominee and just the third to be nominated by herself after Jocelyn Pook (1999’s “Eyes Wide Shut”) and Rachel Portman (2000’s “Chocolat”). All the others had co-composers, including Lisa Gerrard, the only woman to have multiple bids and the only female winner so far, having shared her “Gladiator” (2000) victory with Hans Zimmer.
Though Best Original Score was added at the 5th Golden Globe Awards in 1948, the category didn’t see its first female nominee until Marilyn Bergman was nominated with her partner and husband Alan...
Guðnadóttir is only the eighth female nominee and just the third to be nominated by herself after Jocelyn Pook (1999’s “Eyes Wide Shut”) and Rachel Portman (2000’s “Chocolat”). All the others had co-composers, including Lisa Gerrard, the only woman to have multiple bids and the only female winner so far, having shared her “Gladiator” (2000) victory with Hans Zimmer.
Though Best Original Score was added at the 5th Golden Globe Awards in 1948, the category didn’t see its first female nominee until Marilyn Bergman was nominated with her partner and husband Alan...
- 12/16/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
With a Cheshire Cat grin, Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman stood in front of a microphone at FloydFest in the wee hours of Saturday morning, basking in the moment. “It ain’t anybody’s first rodeo around here,” the singer-guitarist chuckled to the roar of the hardcore crowd.
Indeed, in its 19th installment, FloydFest has been around the block, but somehow it’s maintained its place as one of the best-kept secrets on the national festival circuit. Situated on a mountaintop in rural southwest Virginia, the event is tucked down...
Indeed, in its 19th installment, FloydFest has been around the block, but somehow it’s maintained its place as one of the best-kept secrets on the national festival circuit. Situated on a mountaintop in rural southwest Virginia, the event is tucked down...
- 7/29/2019
- by Garret K. Woodward
- Rollingstone.com
The Great Gatsby dominated. Aacta.s technical and short films awards today, collecting gongs in all six craft categories for which it was nominated, plus the Aacta award for outstanding achievement in visual effects.
The co-production Top of the Lake bagged two TV trophies while Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys, created by Tony Ayres, was named best children.s TV series.
The TV documentary prize went to Redesign My Brain, which explores the revolutionary new science of brain plasticity, written and directed by Paul Scott and produced by Isabel Perez and Scott for ABC TV.
Writer-director Nick Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard, produced by John Molloy, was honoured as best short fiction film. Developed and funded through Screen Australia.s Springboard program, the short is a prequel to the upcoming feature film Boys In The Trees, tracing the friendship between two teenagers in a mental health clinic in...
The co-production Top of the Lake bagged two TV trophies while Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys, created by Tony Ayres, was named best children.s TV series.
The TV documentary prize went to Redesign My Brain, which explores the revolutionary new science of brain plasticity, written and directed by Paul Scott and produced by Isabel Perez and Scott for ABC TV.
Writer-director Nick Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard, produced by John Molloy, was honoured as best short fiction film. Developed and funded through Screen Australia.s Springboard program, the short is a prequel to the upcoming feature film Boys In The Trees, tracing the friendship between two teenagers in a mental health clinic in...
- 1/28/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Inventive guitar goddess Kaki King released her latest album, Glow, last week. Recorded in Woodstock, N.Y. with producer D. James Goodwin, the album features the Ethel string quartet and marks King’s return to instrumental guitar work. She recently released a video for one of the album’s standout tracks, “Cargo Cult,” which features King in a hospital gown. Check it out below....
- 10/17/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
Join Imogen Heap, Sir Richard Branson and friends online, in a very spontaneous ‘get together’ with live music and open discussion, as they raise funds to benefit the victims of the recent devastating floods in Pakistan.
Hosted by Ze Frank, the online event will feature intimate musical performances by Imogen Heap, Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Kate Havnevik, KT Tunstall, Josh Groban, Kaki King, Zoe Keating and Mark Isham.
There will also be revealing conversations with Sir Richard Branson, Mary Robinson, Cameron Sinclair, Mark Pearson (live from Karachi), Gary Slutkin and Anders Wilhemlson. May well be more as the word spreads!
Read more...
Hosted by Ze Frank, the online event will feature intimate musical performances by Imogen Heap, Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Kate Havnevik, KT Tunstall, Josh Groban, Kaki King, Zoe Keating and Mark Isham.
There will also be revealing conversations with Sir Richard Branson, Mary Robinson, Cameron Sinclair, Mark Pearson (live from Karachi), Gary Slutkin and Anders Wilhemlson. May well be more as the word spreads!
Read more...
- 8/31/2010
- Look to the Stars
Kaki King Brooklyn-based guitarist/singer/songwriter Kaki King conjures up magic. Born in Atlanta, Kaki picked up the guitar at 4 years old but retired it at age 5. By her tweens, she took on the drums and later restored guitar to the mix. After studies at Nyu, King remained in New York, honing her chops to blissful perfection in the subways and on the club circuit. Credits include the Blue Man Group orchestra, late-night performances on Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, and a shared Golden Globe nom for scoring Into the Wild. King has opened for Marianne Faithfull, David Byrne, Keb Mo, and Soulive and performed with Pink Noise, Tegan & Sara, and Foo Fighters. King is a deep and relevant talent. Get started with "Falling Day," from her 2010 Junior, then download the other 11 tracks. Buy: Lala.com Genre: Rock Artist: Kaki King Song: Falling...
- 4/23/2010
- by Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin
- Huffington Post
I'm not at my best right now because I really really want to take a nap. Walking at least two miles a day between my house and campus sucks way more than biking the same amount. If I happen to get my hands on whoever stole my bike, they're getting a kick in the nuts and/or ovaries (hey, this is Miami) with my left foot because my right ankle is currently attempting to throw in the towel and could not be counted on to carry out such an important task without causing me undue pain. Also I'm way more aware of the creepy drivers who slow down to look at me now that I'm not trying to keep myself from running into telephone poles. And look, I'm sure there may be one couple out there whose story starts with "Well, I was walking down the street one day and...
- 4/14/2010
- by Intern Rusty
It isn’t as extreme as when, say, Michael Jordan embarrassed himself on the baseball field, but there is a noticeable discrepancy between Kaki King’s instrumental prowess and her abilities on the microphone. This became apparent when the guitar virtuoso made her vocals more prominent on 2008’s Dreaming Of Revenge, and now it’s inescapable on her fifth album, which finds King’s voice on nine of 11 tracks. That said, it’s difficult to argue with the places King took her music on her last three discs, which feature lots of beautiful tunes that are moody, atmospheric ...
- 4/13/2010
- avclub.com
The biggest news in late night comedy this week has nothing to do with anything being broadcast on the airwaves. Conan O'Brien, the former host of "The Tonight Show" who walked away from his post at the beginning of the year in a storm of controversy and Jay Leno, kicks off his tour on Monday night (April 12). He'll begin in Eugene, Oregon and cover over a dozen cities across the country. It will be interesting to see what he rolls out and how it plays into his potential return to television later this year.
But there are things happening on television too. Last week was a remarkably great few days for live music on talk shows, and this week is no different. "The Late Show with David Letterman" is on hiatus this week (perhaps they're all taking the next few days off to celebrate the host's birthday, which is today...
But there are things happening on television too. Last week was a remarkably great few days for live music on talk shows, and this week is no different. "The Late Show with David Letterman" is on hiatus this week (perhaps they're all taking the next few days off to celebrate the host's birthday, which is today...
- 4/12/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
Wow, December already? Good morning!
Courtenay Semel is really into celebrating the fact that she's a cover girl, throwing herself a party and everything. Curve is probably seeing its most sales ever, with the heiress herself likely having purchased several to give away to friends, family and prospective girlfriends.
If you're a Hollyoaks fan, you might be sad to hear that Zoë Lister will be gone as of January. The second lesbianish character to leave the show this season, Zoë claims she was "proud" of how her character's ex-flame Sarah died earlier this year, which was falling to her death with a sabotaged parachute. They're going to have to pull out all the stops in offing Zoë. Here's an idea: Lesbian bed death.
The New Yorker's awesome lesbian writer Ariel Levy has penned a piece on "Sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya." It's a great read, and further...
Courtenay Semel is really into celebrating the fact that she's a cover girl, throwing herself a party and everything. Curve is probably seeing its most sales ever, with the heiress herself likely having purchased several to give away to friends, family and prospective girlfriends.
If you're a Hollyoaks fan, you might be sad to hear that Zoë Lister will be gone as of January. The second lesbianish character to leave the show this season, Zoë claims she was "proud" of how her character's ex-flame Sarah died earlier this year, which was falling to her death with a sabotaged parachute. They're going to have to pull out all the stops in offing Zoë. Here's an idea: Lesbian bed death.
The New Yorker's awesome lesbian writer Ariel Levy has penned a piece on "Sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya." It's a great read, and further...
- 12/1/2009
- by Trish Bendix
- AfterEllen.com
This review was written for the festival screening of "Into the Wild".Telluride Film Festival
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
Running time -- 147 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
Running time -- 147 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Telluride Film Festival
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
Running time -- 147 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
Running time -- 147 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Telluride Film Festival
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
MPAA rating R, running time 147 minutes.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The romance of the open road has proved irresistible to adventurous young men from Jack London to Jack Kerouac and, more recently, Christopher McCandless, a troubled college grad who in the early 1990s burned his cash, junked his car and disappeared into the north Alaskan territories, where he died an agonizing death from starvation, alone.
Writer-director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", based on Jon Krakauer's book, is an extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.
"Wild" has appeal for young audiences and baby boomers alike. Although Penn has an uneven track record as a director, his reputation as an actor, coupled with exciting outdoor adventure sequences, should spell respectable boxoffice. Paramount Vantage releases the film domestically Sept. 21.
McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a bright loner, flees a fractious home headed by a distant, raging father (an underused William Hurt) and an alcoholic mother Marcia Gay Harden). After graduating from Emory, he takes off on his cross-country odyssey without telling anyone. When he reaches Alaska, he camps in an abandoned bus that will become his tomb, hunts animals for food and memorializes his experiences in a journal, a course of events vividly realized in the film.
Penn flashes back and forth in time with alacrity, aided by seamless transitions from editor Jay Cassidy, his frequent collaborator. Eric Gautier's astounding cinematography is visceral whether he is shooting the adrenaline rush of running the rapids, the serenity of limitless Western vistas or the punishing stillness of the wilderness.
Skillfully constructed, the film is hampered by a reliance on McCandless' pretentious, facile ruminations. Although he occasionally shows him in an unflattering light, Penn doesn't question whether McCandless' anti-materialist, "absolute truth/freedom through nature" creed is a cover story for running away from responsibility and himself, nor does he probe into why he pursues the extreme isolation that costs him his life.
While the material seems to warrant understated, direct storytelling, along the lines of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man", Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating. It's unclear if it's a function of the screenplay, the callowness of the character or a flat lead performance, but McCandless remains opaque, so the movie is saddled with a cipher at its center.
Hirsch doesn't project the magnetism that would give credence to McCandless' supposed liberating effect on the people he encounters. As he heals the marital strife of a hippie couple (Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker), expands the horizons of a lonely widower (Hal Holbrook) and steals the heart of a shy singer (Kristen Stewart), one wonders if he's a legend in his own mind. Vince Vaughn, playing a rowdy combine worker, gives the film a welcome jolt of humor that helps relieve the earnestness.
McCandless wouldn't be the first young man to mythologize himself or imagine he's the star of his own movie, which, ironically, he has become. It's difficult to stifle the impulse to chide, "Oh, grow up", but he never had that chance.
INTO THE WILD
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment present a Square One C.I.H./Linson Film production
Screenwriter-director: Sean Penn
Producers: Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bob Pohlad
Executive producers: John J. Kelly, Frank Hildebrand, David Blocker
Director of photography: Eric Gautier
Production designer: Derek R. Hill
Music: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editor: Jay Cassidy
Cast:
Christopher: Emile Hirsch
Billie: Marcia Gay Harden
Walt: William Hurt
Ron: Hal Holbrook
Jan: Catherine Keener
Carine: Jena Malone
Tracy: Kristen Stewart
Wayne: Vince Vaughn
Rainey: Brian Dierker
MPAA rating R, running time 147 minutes.
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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