November 20, 2007, 12:07 AM
Actors of the Year - Page 6
By Mike D'Angelo
Henry Leutwyler
Emile Hirsch
Into the Wild
An irrepressible romantic who followed his bliss, or just a postcollegiate dumbass who starved to death in the Alaskan wilderness because he was too arrogant to procure a map? The beauty of Emile Hirsch's performance in Into the Wild, Sean Penn's generally sympathetic account of Christopher McCandless's ultimately fatal two-year journey across America, is that he manages to reconcile these apparently contradictory viewpoints. Sure, he stands near majestic vistas with arms outstretched and face turned to the sky while Penn swoops the camera around him, and his puppyish enthusiasm is infectious. But every so often -- sometimes in startling glances directly at the camera -- Hirsch hints at the way that McCandless's self-righteous passion could spill over into mania. Most impressive of all are his handful of scenes with Catherine Keener's surrogate mother, in which Hirsch subtly conveys this young man's obstinate refusal to acknowledge the family he's cruelly abandoned in the name of self-reliance. He creates a vivid, unforgettable character you at once admire and pity.
Jacket and t-shirt by Calvin Klein Collection.
Because, every once in a while, you need to refresh the top drawer
And A-Rod! And books! And Homeland! Charles P. Pierce bids farewell to the week that was.
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