A New Beginning to Into The Wild

 

1.  EXT. LAKE MEAD RECREATIONAL AREA – DAY 

July 6 1992

SUPER: 

WIDE-SHOT: A small and dirtied yellow Datsun cruises through the desert high way passing by the fields of cacti. The mountains are seen in the distance. It is a sunny morning.

MCCANDLESS 

          Woohoooooooo!

The scream is heard from far away. The car crosses a sign stating LAKE MEAD RECREATIONAL AREA 7 miles. Camera films inside the car where McCandless is jubilant behind the wheel. Wind is pushing back his hair; rays of sunlight appear in the camera. McCandless finds a stray path in the road that leads left and decides to follow it. There is a warning sign that prohibits the entrance.         

          Great! (To himself)

After more driving he is near a riverbed. It is extremely hot. He parks his car, takes his backpack out and sits down on the sand against his car. Camera zooms into his sweating forehead. He takes his shirt and pants off, takes the change he has in his pockets, throws it in the sand carelessly and plunges into the water.

CHRIS (V.O.):

The camera follows Chris swimming underwater.

It should not be denied… that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west. 

He comes out of the water taking a deep breath. The camera slowly zooms out, far over his car and his body. The yellow Datsun looks puny in contrast to the immensity of the bare desert. The camera stays in that scene for 2 seconds and then turns black.

2.  INT. HOUSE – CARINE’S ROOM – NIGHT  

A loud scream is heard while Carine is about to go to sleep, getting into the covers of her bed. The indistinct sound of a woman screaming gets louder and suddenly MOM MCCANDLESS opens the door of Carine’s room. She looks haggard and is crying.

MOM MCCANDLESS

Where is Chris!

CARINE 

I don’t know! I don’t know, Mom! How am I supposed to know?

MOM MCCANDLESS

You damn right know where Christopher is! I swear if you don’t tell me…

The camera films the back of MOM MCCANDLESS. She violently pulls CARINE’S covers and they struggle between each other. CARINE kicks her and screams and her mom slaps her back.

CARINE

Mom! Stop!

The door slams shut and the camera zooms into CARINE’s face sobbing.

MOM MCANDLESS 

When you are ready to tell the truth the police is downstairs.

The camera leaves the room and follows MOM MCCANDLESS into the indistinct noises of the police radio. Downstairs, WALT MCCANDLESS is talking to several policemen.

POLICE

When was the last time you said you saw your son? Three weeks ago?

WALT MCCANDLESS 

Yes, like about a month ago. We meant to report earlier but we thought he might come back. You know how young kids are.

MOM McCANDLESS is crying hysterically in the background. The house’s door is open and there is a police car sitting outside.

POLICE 

What did he intend to do after graduation? Do you know anything about his future plans?

Now directing the question towards both MOM MCCANDLESS and WALTER. Zoom into their oblivious faces.

MOM MCCANDLESS

 (Continues sobbing uncontrollably.) 

He was supposed to stay in Virginia and start working in the company with his Father. (Pauses) And he said that he wanted to begin law school. Those were his plans.

POLICE

I’ll see what we can do. We’ll report the details of the yellow Datsun at the station just in case they’ve seen it. In the meantime, if you remember anything that might be valuable information contact us.

3.  EXT. UKNOWN HIGHWAY NORTH

MCCANDLESS is now car-less, holding his backpack. The camera has a full view of his body. He puts his thumb up as a 4 x 4 truck car stops drastically speeds by him. Shit. 

                              MCCANDLESS 

Shit. (Muttering)

A second car comes by, the dust overwhelmingly covers the bottom half of the scene. The DRIVER’s hand is hanging out of the car window.  

DRIVER

Where do you want to go?  

CHRIS MCCANDLESS

Get me anywhere closer to Alaska.

INT. CAR

The door closes and McCandless sits down holding his backpack. 

DRIVER 

Every once in a while we get one of those young backpackers, and I always tell them they don’t know what they are getting themselves into. What is your name?

CHRIS MCCANDLESS

None of that matters. 

 

Narrative Technique of Into the Wild

Imagine you’re suddenly submerged into this narrative:

The Outside magazine receives a mysterious letter written by a person named Franz Ronald. The letter asks for questions pertaining to the news published on McCandless’ death months earlier.  You jump to the next paragraph and the plot flashbacks: Chris McCandless (the dead guy), is now hitchhiking to his following unknown destination where he meets Franz Ronald, who offers him a ride. This incident—by a strike of luck or destiny, developed into one of the several unexpected friendships that Chris made along his obsessive odyssey to Alaska. The chapter progresses describing the extent of Franz and McCandless’s relationship, including conversations, letters, and confrontations until the moment McCandless finally leaves Franz to pursue his Alaskan dream. As the chapter unfolds, you bask in the details as if they were clues to greater insight into McCandless’s mind. Then, as soon as you believe you’ve gotten hold to what caused McCandless’s death, Boom! There’s a flash-forward. You are back into the moment Franz is interviewed about his relation to McCandless, as if starting anew, like an investigator trying to piece together the larger puzzle left behind. 

Whoa!

As a reader, you are perplexed, intrigued, forced to continue.

The most excruciating questions are remained unanswered: how and why did McCandless die? What where his motives to go to Alaska? Why didn’t he survive? Why didn’t someone STOP him?

You have to know what happened. So you continue reading.

            And this is precisely the effect on the readership Jon Krakauer wanted by implementing a non-linear style of narrative. The narrative style in Into the Wild hooks the reader, building up suspense and the dramatic tension before the culminating moments where the whys and the hows are exposed. The technique provides enough information about Chris McCandless without giving it all, and gradually answers the questions that leaves the readers in awe since the discovery of his death. By flashing backwards the reader coherently absorbs the sequence of events that led to McCandless’s death, yet when it flashes forward the reader pauses, takes a breath. The reader realizes that there were minute nuances in the process of discovering the whys and hows of McCandless’s life. In the flash-forwards, the reader is brought back to the crime scene, where clues, letters,strangers interviewed, and even highlighted passages in McCandless’s treasured books are hints to understanding the mystery and the motive that led to McCandless’s tragic death.  

Testing my post…