At the time of writing this, I’ve had the opportunity to see The Long Walk twice. Once at a conventional screening, and another at an interactive experience where we walked on a treadmill for 3.4 MPH for the full screening to simulate the film’s experience. Why put myself through an emotionally devastating movie twice in a row, with a second experience being a physically exhausting one? Because this emotionally devastating movie is actually one of the year’s best.
Stephen King adaptations are everywhere this year. In February we saw Osgood Perkins unleash The Monkey. This Summer, we got to experience The Life of Chuck. In two months, we’ll be chasing The Running Man. However, of all of the adaptations to come this year, The Long Walk is certainly the heaviest, and potentially the most difficult to watch.
This isn’t a movie that has to rely on scares or brutality to illicit an emotion from its viewer. The gruelling nature of the film lies in exclusively in characters and their relationships with one another, as well as the hardships they endure together. It’s that tangible sense of sympathy and pathos, as well as the connection to these characters that, I believe, will inevitably embed this as my favorite King adaptation among the offerings year.
The Long Walk is set in a dystopian (soon to be real) version of America. The government has become a totalitarian, military-run force that condemns free speech and free thinking. Once a year, an event is held called “The Long Walk,” in which candidates from all states participate in a competition, where they keep walking across the country until one participant is left standing. They must maintain a pace of 3 MPH. If they slow down or stop, they will be killed. The one left standing gets wealth and a single wish from the government. In the midst of this, four of the candidates form a bond: Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Arthur Baker (Tut Nyuot), and Hank Olson (Ben Wang).
This is not an easy story to adapt. By its nature, a movie exclusively centered on a group of young men walking for 90 minutes conceptually presents a challenge to the “show don’t tell” model where telling will naturally overpower opportunities to show. However, in the hands of director Francis Lawrence (Constantine, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) and writer JT Mollner (who brought us the stellar Strange Darling), each minute of The Long Walk is engaging, and never fails to make its characters interesting; especially with a cast as astonishing as the ensemble here.
Leading the charge are Hoffman and Jonsson, who are incredible in the roles of Ray Garraty and Peter McVries. You are introduced very quickly to this world and to the competition via Hoffman’s character, Ray. Immediately Hoffman makes him a likeable, friendly everyman who cares deeply about his mother, and is an all-around decent human being. There is a sincerity and earnestness to his performance that not only showcases that he has inherited the talents of his late father, Philip Seymour Hoffman, but also differentiates himself as a unique actor. What you see with Ray is what you get, and as the trauma and complexities of the character are revealed, so too does the multi-dimensional performance from Hoffman. However, no matter what, he ensures the character remains likable thanks to his underdog charm.
That being said, as good as Hoffman is, one actor in particular walks away (no pun intended) with this film, and that’s Jonsson. My God. Between his outstanding work in Alien: Romulus and now here, Jonsson is transforming himself into literally one of the most versatile young talents I’ve ever seen in recent years. His portrayal of Peter McVries could not be more different than his multifaceted performance as Andy from Romulus. Yet, in and of itself, it is no less powerful. Ranging from funny and charming, to powerful and dramatic, Jonsson channels a young Morgan Freeman with his abilities here. Peter is the heart of this movie, and his touching relationship with Ray is what keeps us invested in the entire film. There is an optimism to this character, who himself has seen a great deal of trauma as well, that feeds into the film’s themes of perseverance and hope in the darkest of times, and Jonsson’s instantly lovable depiction of this optimism is impossible to resist. You cherish him and his character so much, that when the darkest, most cynical moments of this film occur, it absolutely shatters your heart, given how invested you are in Peter and his goodness. This is all thanks to Jonsson’s performance and Mollner’s script.
Mollner’s script absolutely does everything it can to get you to like these characters in the short amount of time you spend with them, and it succeeds in spades. We find ourselves learning and caring about characters just enough, that we are devastated when bad things happen to them, regardless of how much screentime they have. Dreams, hopes, ambitions, sins, and traumas are all laid out for every notable character, major or minor, and it’s all done in an efficient way that makes sense in the context of these strangers getting to know each other. It creates an emotionally powerful story that effectively raises the stakes in a way where no one is safe, and the dangers make us terrified about what could happen with these young men.
Furthermore, the screenplay drives home the monstrousness of the faceless American totalitarian regime and its effects on these regular citizens, both physically and emotionally. It feels so horrifyingly relevant today, at a time when the President feels empowered to send military troops to cities like Los Angeles, DC, and Chicago for literally no reason other than a maniacal and narcissistic thirst for power and the imaginary need for martial law. The “Hooah” sense of faux “patriotism” being employed by Mark Hamill’s Major reflects all of this, taking jabs at how the country today is trying to justify nonsensical violent actions by claiming it’s for the “best interest of America.” Watching characters in the film being executed for embracing individual liberties like free speech and opinions feels more plausible today than ever, and Mollner and Lawrence know this, proudly showcasing the horrors that can happen when a government like this takes over. The subtext (maybe just actual overt text) is something King, himself, would be very proud of, and something we can relate to today.
Visually, Lawrence keeps the film gritty and grounded. Despite his talents for polished visual flair in films like The Hunger Games series, Constantine, and I Am Legend, Lawrence decides to scale things back and stick to the grass roots imagery of a dystopian America. It adds to the realism of the situation, and therefore the horror. The America in The Long Walk looks exactly like our America, but a lot more run down: Small towns with faded billboards, desolate grasslands, broken windows and abandoned cars. It keeps the focus on the characters and the immediate danger that befalls them. The brutality of the violence is a stark reminder that the dangers here aren’t things we’ll find in The Hunger Games, but something plausible. It’s simple and gets the point across in a harsh and poignant way.
I also have to commend the movie for doing a pretty excellent job from a representation standpoint. It’s an incredibly diverse cast, and none of the POC actors are underdeveloped or forgettable. Wang’s Olson brings a bit of levity to an otherwise bleak movie, and exhibits a lot of charisma. A lot is revealed about his character that makes him one of the most sympathetic figures on the walk. Joshua Odjick, who plays Parker, exhibits a fire that no other walker showcases, defiant from the very beginning of the film and all throughout. The movie even gives Odjick an opportunity to pay tribute to his heritage as part of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Naturally, with Jonsson and Nyuot given significant, memorable roles, the movie doesn’t ever overly rely on a Caucasian protagonist to carry it.
The score for the film is incredibly powerful too. Jeremiah Fraites, of The Lumineers, has composed a score that evokes the emotion of Thomas Newman’s works for The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, but also the tension of Mark Isham’s score from The Mist. It creates a massive sense of dread during the most intense moments of the film, but also tear-jerking emotion during the most somber moments.
In fact, the sound mixing and editing for the film is also quite incredible. Every pop of a bullet, crash of glass, and crack of a bone makes you wince, jump, and quake in discomfort. Given this is a movie that is fairly scaled down visually and conceptually, the sound design is incredibly important, and it certainly immerses you in the utter despair of the competition.
I would be remiss if I didn’t issue a warning that the movie is not a feel-good one. Fun is not a word I’d use to describe this movie. The best word for it is haunting, because The Long Walk stays with you well after you’ve seen it. While the film may seem to appear on the surface to be following in the footsteps of Squid Game or Hunger Games (though obviously the novel came *way* before both), in the hands of Mollner and Lawrence, it actually surprisingly ends up a lot closer to Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me in its themes of friendship and perseverance in the darkest of circumstances. Consider that a compliment on how exceptional it is. There’s a beautiful sentimentality to the movie rooted in the relationships between the walkers, particularly Cooper and Jonsson’s characters. And because it gets you fully invested in the characters and those relationships, the danger, the tension, and the stakes fully engross you in the situation of the well-written, well-executed narrative. Be warned, that a lot of it may trigger some, given the shocking relevance of the movie. However, for those willing to brave it, you’ll be rewarded with, quite frankly, one of the best films of the year, and one of the best King adaptations to come in a long time! In short, consider this a walk worth taking!
Overall Score (on an entertainment level): A-
Overall Score (on a representation level): A-
The Long Walk hits theaters this Friday, September 12!
