Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of The Long Walk reinforces how close this dystopian future mirrors America’s current state, creating a chilling and impactful effect on the audience.
The Long Walk
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring David Jonsson, Cooper Hoffman, Mark Hamill, Ben Wang, Judy Greer
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 mins
Synopsis
Adapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, The Long Walk depicts a ravaged America that offers a sadistic lottery to it’s citizens: 50 contestants must walk at a minimum of 3 miles per hour until one remains. Contestants who fail to maintain speed or walk off course are terminated while the winner wins a cash prize and one wish fulfilled by the Major (Hamill).
A Familiar America
J.T. Mollner’s screenplay and Francis Lawrence’s direction combine into a film that features young adults on the cusp of adulthood, without feeling like a YA novel. That distinction is noticeable right away; we see the horrific reality of what this type of walk would inflict on the human body and your psyche. If human bodily functions gross you out, this film is certainly not for you, but you can imagine how difficult and gross it would be to keep moving as you do daily, routine functions. It also marks a departure for Lawrence, who’s made a living recently adapting the Hunger Games books into a successful franchise. While those films certainly have dark overtones and insinuations, they never become as graphic as the various executions seen in The Long Walk. As far as tone, Walk hews much closer to moments we’d see in The Walking Dead (2010-2022); high levels of grossness and virtually no qualms over showing a headshot.
But this type of violence, compared to the heavy amounts of action in say a John Wick, is purposeful and more impactful for the audience. Every death has a moment, has a purpose, and gives our cast opportunities to showcase their character’s reactions (or lack of one) to the most recent execution. I’m not saying I would want every movie to feel like this, but the brutality feels more honest here than with plenty of others I’ve reviewed the past few years. As the deaths mount, we start to see how they weigh on each character differently: some worry that it becomes too easy to ignore the gunshots, others losing their sanity as they become delirious, and others contemplating the most dignified way that they can leave the contest while holding others up.
When it comes to the world King crafted and that Lawrence and Mollner have adapted, the movie doesn’t break down what exactly happened to lead to such a dystopian world. But audiences won’t have to use their imagination; it’s already present in our world today. If Hunger Games feels further away due to its reality, plausibility, and timeliness, The Long Walk could be a reality TV show that comes on HBO Max next year. Hoffman’s Ray Garraty leads the charge questioning the sickness surrounding the contest, and any one of his criticisms could apply to our reality TV show obsession, how we report on real-life situations in the news, or how many democratic guardrails governments have gleefully stepped over in the name of power and “safety”.
The film provides a few pushbacks to Ray’s perspective on things, but ultimately agrees with his decisions, at least in universe. We don’t really see what happens after the climactic moments of the contest, but the film does leave enough things open-ended before this point regarding the Major and his regime so we can decide for ourselves how effective Ray and Peter’s actions would be.
Hoffman and Jonsson Shine
Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are a fantastic pair for this film, as Raymond “Ray” Garraty and Peter McVries, respectively. Their bond becomes apparent as the film shifts between different elements of their budding but complicated friendship. Ray, while friendly, seemed content to keep to himself and avoid the others until drawn in by Peter, who is usually the catalyst for drawing out any real emotion from Ray or the other contestants. Peter’s warmth is a double-edged sword, though, as he can shut down when the others finally warm up and want to engage him as deeply as he’s encouraged or pushed them to be. This dynamic works incredibly well as we eventually see the entire group gel, just as the grueling nature of the contest begins to take its toll on the final contestants. The same stress and turmoil that is weighing on and literally tearing their bodies apart is the same thing that will solidify their bond, for however short it is. Given the screentime these two share with the entire group, it’s impressive how quickly we believe their friendship and that the actors are robust enough to carry that portrayal across various hardships and issues that come up.
Credit: Lionsgate
While the movie doesn’t address Ray and Peter’s overt homoerotic relationship from the book, the film does address this through subtext as the entire group of men doubles down on their masculinity in various ways. Their overcompensation is used to cover up how tender they actually are towards one another, or refuse to truly admit to one another. In a world where the Major is focused on “building up” young men, fighting “laziness”, and constantly admiring the size of their genitals, this type of overcompensation or even repression of one’s sexuality seems necessary to survive but ultimately robs some of the contestants of their humanity.
Major Hamill
It’s truly a shame that Hollywood hasn’t rung up Hamill for more roles like this. If there’s anyone with the voice and charisma to ham up opportunities like this, it’s Hamill. To be fair, he’s not in this film terribly long, so if you were hoping for larger doses, you will be disappointed. His appearances in the film, though, are solid and well-timed; they represent a brief respite from the chaos, even as he stands as the symbol of an overreaching government’s tyranny.
Credit: Lionsgate
It may feel bizarre to laugh at how ridiculous his character is, or how on the nose his ideology is with current events, but that’s the point. We should be able to laugh at how ridiculous his claims are, and hopefully realize how horrifying it is that there were people who truly believed in his non-sense, just like many Americans are being conned into believing plenty of worse ideas.
Conclusion / Recommendation
Francis Lawrence continues to show why he’s so adapt at handling book transitions to screen and has showcased his willingness to go the extra mile when the content gets grosser or bloodier. The restraint he’s shown in other projects served him well here; he’s crafted another fine dystopian piece that will certainly get people thinking and hopefully questioning what’s going on in the world around them.
Given the graphic nature (grossness) on some of the executions and bodily functions, I advise avoidance for the squeamish, but the film will work great if you want to catch it in theaters or wait until it’s streaming.
Score: 8.6 out of 10
- 9- Superb duo performances
- Bracketed by Jonsson and Hoffman, Long Walk lets these two young actors stretch their legs and craft a compelling friendship that pushes the story to it’s climax.
- 8- Been There, Done That Dystopia
- Long Walk was a fresh and needed take on potential authoritarian government back in the 80s, and the adaptation doesn’t move that needle any further. Unfortunately, the message is timely regardless of decade, so it still works incredibly well.
- 9- Brutal restraint
- Lawrence doesn’t shy away from showing gross and gruesome moments, but they are wisely placed to release some tension, ratchet up the energy when needed, or give a respectful end to a character.
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