The Long Walk
GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★☆ 3.8/5
Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: JT Mollner
Based on the Novel by: Stephen King (originally published under the pseudonym, Richard Bachman
Starring: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill.
‘Keep walking.’
‘Dear Mr. Raymond Garraty.
Congratulations!’
Reads the beginning of, The Long Walk.
Ray (Cooper Hoffman (yes that’s Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son)) has won the chance to partake in the, The Long Walk, where the last one standing, walking, wins riches and a wish for anything (except change to government policy, of course).
But the ‘congratulations’ comes into question when the winner is the last standing, as in, the last one alive because if the walker slows to less than 3 miles per hour, they get a warning. After 3 warnings in an hour? They get shot. Cross the line at the side of the road, no warning, just bang, you’re dead.
The fifty boys who won their chance begin walking on May 1st, 8:00am.
They all joined the walk voluntarily.
Ray says his goodbyes to his mother, Mme Garraty (Judy Greer). She cries and doesn’t want to let go, ‘I love you better.’
The military at the gate to the entrance of The Walk take Ray’s ID. They don’t give it back.
At Mile 1, The Major (Mark Hamill) tells the group, Anyone can win.
It’s not clear the time the movie is set; it feels like the depression era, but in the near future.
It’s a timeless tone of desolate landscapes and a country’s financial ruin leading to limited choices.
Ray introduces himself to the group of walkers as a friend, and the ones who respond in kind, Peter (David Jonsson), Hank (Ben Wang), Arthur (Tut Nyuot), become each other’s support, to become true friends in spite of being in competition for their lives. The walk is the survival of the fittest. And each has their reason for being there.
As the movie progresses, the character of each walker is revealed, so it’s a linear movie with dialogue running the storyline with moments of horror.
I read the Richard Bachman novel years back, digging into Stephen King’s previous publications when it became known Bachman was his pseudonym. The Long Walk is a standout of the Bachman publications; the premise surprised me, the idea unique, the characters coming alive off the page as each came to their unfortunate end.
And each character in the film has their moment as they walk those long miles.
‘Fuck boys, I’m ready to rip.’
The antics of boys around 18 years of age translates well – when your buddy stinks like shit, you can ask him to move away and still love him while holding your nose.
There’s an unpacking of the trap set when being cornered, here after an economic collapse post war.
Why do all the boys apply for The Long Walk?
Because they’re not given a choice. They’re told they have no other choice. They’re herded towards what they think is the only option available. Then dehumanised, given a number to be called by, then televised for the country to watch them die.
It’s a seemingly simple plot, but the characters make the movie.
The Long Walk is a little, Stand By Me in tone, as it’s the unpacking of each character, the good, the bad, and the mix so each character has a backstory, a relatable, recognisable personality shown in their behaviour, so what Stephen King does so well by digging out those characteristics of people to understand why they behave the way they do comes across on screen. Then there’s the added horror of walk until you die, until your body falls apart, or your mind, while questioning the why of it while partaking to fight against it.
The Long Walk is a cerebral horror that absorbs from start to finish, to then think about after because the concepts and questions will always apply to choices we make, forced to make, and how each person has their own reasons for making them based on their own unique character.
It’s about what drives people and why.
There’s a lot to think about. And well worth a watch.
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