Tagline: We are all individuals.
To find himself he sneaks out at night and goes into the inner city. This is James wilderness. We learn earlier in the story that his father told James about the wonders of the wilderness and that we all have some of that wilderness within us. James is looking for himself and there is one scene with his therapist that is James awakening moment. He discovers he cannot ever know why his father…. He can only know about himself!
All the Wilderness is an American drama film written and directed by Michael Johnson. The film stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Isabelle Fuhrman, Danny DeVito, Virginia Madsen and Evan Ross. The film was released on February 20, 2015, by Screen Media Films.
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2014. On November 4, 2014, Screen Media Films acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released in the United States on February 20, 2015.
About the Story
James has shut himself off from his surroundings, falling into a world of imagination and darkness. Visits with his psychiatrist have proven unhelpful – though he takes a liking to fellow patient, Val. As James begins to rebel against his single mother, he ventures into the night where he meets a mysterious kid who welcomes him into an eccentric city. Relationships are put to the test as James navigates unfamiliar territory, wrestling with the reality of his own personal wilderness.
This is a sensitive movie wonderfully edited and filmed. I was particularly taken with how director Michael Johnson portrayed James inner demons. The story is about growing up and learning about the world we live in as opposed to the world within us.
Director / writer Michael Johnson has offered a wonderful film about finding the ‘self’. Here we have James Charm with an obsession for dead things like birds, insect, and wilderness dwelling creatures and sketching their dead bodies into his journal. James also visits a therapist, reluctantly. There is something bothering James and we the viewer are kept in the dark until the end of the story as to what he is depressed about.
All the Wilderness
Directed by: Michael Johnson
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Virginia Madsen, Isabelle Fuhrman, Evan Ross, Hannah Barefoot, Danny DeVito, Jacob Block, Pat Janowski
Screenplay by: Michael Johnson
Production Design by: David Storm
Cinematography by: Adam Newport-Berra
Film Editing by: John-Michael Powell
Costume Design by: Savannah Johnson
Set Decoration by: Jenelle Giordano
MPAA Rating: None.
Studio: Screen Media Films
Release Date: February 20, 2015
Visits: 151
