By Mark Fields
Screen Adaptation of Early Stephen King Story Evocative and Moving
It’s difficult to believe that a bunch of boys walking and talking for two hours can make for a captivating movie, but then I saw The Long Walk (and I also remembered Stand By Me).
Set in a desolate but still familiar post-apocalyptic America, the brutal paramilitary leader of what’s left of the country has determined that annually, a group of teenage boys (one from each state) will be compelled – more accurately, compelled to volunteer – to walk continuously until only one is left standing. That one boy will receive riches and be granted any wish he has; those who fall behind will be executed.
The film ticks off the ordeal with mile marker indicators, but we also get to witness these boys have conversations, express hopes and dreams, and forge attachments to one another as they face this pitiless test.
Director Francis Lawrence, a veteran of similarly-themed The Hunger Games franchise, has wisely populated his new film with a cast of near-total unknowns. I suspect that is so we don’t predict the various boys’ chances of survival based on the actors’ relative celebrity status. The two primary characters, Ray and Peter, are played by Cooper Hoffman (the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) and David Jonsson, who have appealing personalities that draw the audience deeply into the stakes of this contest Mark Hamill, himself once a teenage movie star, portrays the ruthless Major.
Based on an early Stephen King novel (written under his Richard Bachman pseudonym), The Long Walk conjures memories of other films, not just Stand By Me – based on another King/Bachman story – but also King’s The Stand, Alex Garland’s Civil War, and of course, The Hunger Games. Strangely, these associations don’t make The Long Walk feel derivative but instead still and evermore relevant.
Although The Long Walk breaks no new ground in terms of cinematic theme or style, it is nevertheless a moving and memorable film.
Official Trailer
