A film filled with inner turmoil and hidden secrets, All the Wilderness is a film for those who enjoy depth and a slow pace.
It concerns a lonely boy’s striving for social connections. The wilderness refers to the woods behind the remote cabin where James (Kodi Smit-McPhee) lives with his mother, Abigail (Virginia Madsen). It is also associated, though, with the loneliness and separation that he feels following his father’s death. He internalises objects as symbols of his vast, unexplained yearning, such as the roots of an old tree, or the maze of paper-towel tubes that he’s constructed for his hamster.
A sensitive, creative teenager, the sort who casually reads Herman Melville and Carl Sandburg while listening to classical music, James is likely to experience some sort of isolation. But his father’s death complicates his peculiarities by inspiring a premature death obsession that he uses as an excuse to separate from the spotlight of human communication, while secretly begging for someone to coax him out of his rut.
He meets a pair of mysterious teens who take him on a journey through the underground music scene of Portland. Experiencing life like never before, through love, brawls and wild parties, James must learn to navigate his own personal wilderness and move on with his life.
I must admit to finding this movie hard going. The pace is slow and most of the film deals with the battle in James’ mind. It is full of symbolism and sometimes hard for the viewer to separate fact from fiction.
Having said that, Kodi Smit-McPhee, known to Australian audiences for his performance in the miniseries Gallipoli, is amazing. He is able to maintain an amazing intensity throughout the film that would make many experienced actor jealous.
The other standout is Danny De Vito as Doctor Pembry. De Vito is usually known for his comedy, however in this film he is the dispenser of wisdom and a turning point for James.
The other performances are competent and help build James’ character and provide a counterpoint to his introversion.
Watching All the Wilderness is like going down a long, foreboding tunnel and finding a light at the end; relentless but with a ray of hope.
Reviewed by Barry Hill
Twitter: @kinesguy
Rating out of 10: 5
All the Wilderness will be released on DVD on 22 June 2016.
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