having read the book i was looking forward to this movie. i missed it when it was in theatres and rented it the day it came out. the movie followed the book remarkably well, which is always a pleasant surprise. the one thing that i did find was drastically different was that in the book christopher mccandless does not know he has eaten the poisonous plant instead of the edible. therefore not realizing he is going to die. heart wrenching story, yet also inspiring. here was an intelligent, young man who defied everyone around him and went out and did what he wanted to do. in doing so he found the family unit he seemed to seek. i thought emile hirsch did a wonderful job portraying mccandless, in both appearance and what i can only assume was his free-spirit, independent, adventurous, personality. i can’t help feeling that although scared mccandless died doing something he loved and was at peace.