Meticulously crafted with riveting performances and timely themes, ‘The Long Walk’ is as entertainingly engrossing as it is toe-curling in detail. Stephen King has a long list of cinematic adaptations to be proud of, from ‘Carrie’ to ‘Stand By Me’ to ‘Gerald’s Game’ and beyond. ‘The Long Walk’ is another fine addition to this uniquely masterful collection.
Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk is bloody, visceral and intense. Lawrence is no stranger to compelling dystopian pictures – he directed Catching Fire, the best Hunger Games film. Yet in helming this picture, Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner (Strange Darling) explore how easily people fall into willful compliance out of fear, as well as the bravery and endurance people can find under such duress. It’s a politically savvy thriller and terrific popcorn entertainment.
Based on the 1979 Stephen King book of the same name, the film is set in the future within a totalitarian United States – and let’s face it, in the age of Trump 2.0, that’s not difficult to imagine. Every year, the regime holds ‘The Long Walk’, a contest in which 50 young men must walk continuously at three miles an hour or faster. If they fall below that, or stop walking altogether, they face execution, with the contest only ending when one man is left.
Joshua Odjick as Parker, Jordan Gonzalez as Harkness, David Jonsson as McVries, Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, and Charlie Plummer as Barkovitch in The Long Walk. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate
Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) is one of this year’s contestants, as indicated by a superimposed letter in the film’s first frame. He joins despite his mother’s (Judy Greer) protests, for deeply personal reasons. His fellow walkers include the streetwise Pete (David Jonsson of Rye Lane), the intelligent Hank (Ben Wang) and the erratic Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer). Under the eye of the chauvinistic Major (Mark Hamill), the men walk and walk, with the drama emerging from disturbing variables that, one by one, take effect through exhaustion and oppression.
It’s an excruciating task – to walk endlessly for hundreds of miles with no room for anything else, including sleep – and the efforts of Lawrence and team capture the gruelling feel of the premise. The camera is almost always in motion alongside the characters, tracking them as they walk, and walk, with no end in sight. Despite the constant movement, the camera nonetheless remains steady, giving us such a detailed view of how this contest wears down its competitors that it borders on voyeuristic. The cinematography invites us into the film’s world, asking us to bear witness to the ordeals that these young men endure for effectively little more than sport.
Costuming and makeup are key players in this film’s construction. The further the characters walk, the sweatier, darker and heavier their clothes get. The more drained their expressions become and, worst of all, the more horrific their injuries. One unfortunate lad twists his ankle during the walk, and by the time he’s put out of his misery, his foot has effectively bent into a horrific new shape. It’s a grotesque image, but an eerie example of how meticulous the costuming and makeup are in this picture. Twinned with the fluid but steadfast cinematography, to the tune of Jeremiah Fraites’ chillingly invasive score, you can practically feel every painful step.
Charlie Plummer as Barkovitch, Garrett Wareing as Stebbins, Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, David Jonsson as McVries, Ben Wang as Olson, Tut Nyuot as Baker, and Joshua Odjick as Parker in The Long Walk. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate
The Major claims that ‘The Long Walk’ is to inspire productivity in the masses and reinstall traditional ideas of hard work and determination in the next generation, all while the winner enjoys riches. Civilians certainly watch the contest, but the fact that only men are competing in this contest is a clue to the underlying toxic masculinity of these ideas – namely that strong men are made through brutality instead of compassion or solidarity, a dated and ridiculous principle.
The film’s richness comes from the camaraderie the characters develop and the themes that emerge from their shared plight. Chief among them is the dynamic between Ray and Pete, the story’s primary characters. The two have a fun, mutually respectful dynamic – built on the foundations of Hoffman and Jonsson’s schoolboy chemistry – but their conversations surrounding the purpose and effectiveness of The Long Walk serve as the thematic heart of the story.
Like ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘The Long Walk’ is essentially a spectacle designed to keep the masses at bay while a totalitarian regime imposes its will. Ray has a personal vendetta that compels him to compete, but when he sees the observing civilians (albeit few) and comments on their complicity, Pete sagely observes, “We can’t be mad at people who are conditioned to think this is normal”. Where Ray is angry at the world, Pete instead views solidarity as a step forward – that class consciousness is key to overcoming fear and toppling those at the top, something that the film proves through the unusual but unmistakable camaraderie developed between many of the competitors. King’s book also explores these sentiments, and he wrote it nearly 50 years ago. Evidently, those themes were as prevalent then as they are now.
The cast’s collective performances lead the charge. The characters’ personalities vary, but all portray the hardship of the walk in harrowing detail. Whether picked off early or fighting until the bitter end, the actors imbue their roles with charisma and tenacity, each bringing a unique sense of gravitas to their character. Cooper and Jonsson’s playful dynamic contrasts with Hamill’s gruff, chauvinistic performance, punctuated by sanctimoniously edgy speeches that make him an intimidating stand-in for dictatorial oppression. The acting is merely the cherry on top of the surprisingly layered entertainment cake.
The Long Walk can be thematically on the nose at times, and its central concept, to those unfamiliar with the book, may come across as Speed meets The Hunger Games. But there’s no denying its kinetic intensity or stellar craftsmanship. Meticulously crafted with riveting performances and timely themes, The Long Walk is as entertainingly engrossing as it is toe-curling in detail. Stephen King has a long list of cinematic adaptations of his work to be proud of, from Carrie to Stand By Me to Gerald’s Game and beyond. The Long Walk is another fine addition to this uniquely masterful collection.
The Long Walk strides into cinemas nationwide on September 12.
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