The Long Walk Review

Directed By: Francis Lawrence
Written By: JT Moller; Based on the book by Stephen King
Runtime: 108 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, suicide, pervasive language, and sexual references

Cooper Hoffman – Ray Garraty, 47
David Jonsson – Peter McVries, 23
Tut Nyuot – Arthur Baker, 6
Ben Wang – Hank Olson, 46
Charlie Plummer – Gary Barkovitch, 5
Garrett Wareing – Stebbins, 38
Joshua Odjick – Collie Parker, 48
Jordan Gonzalez – Richard Harkness, 49
Roman Griffin Davis – Thomas Curley, 7
Mark Hamill – The Major
Judy Greer – Ginnie Garraty
Josh Hamilton – Mr. Garraty

Director Francis Lawrence explores a dark, nihilistic, dystopian world where young men take part in a brutal death game in The Long Walk. Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, first published in 1979 under King’s pen name of Richard Bachman, The Long Walk depicts a group of young men taking part in a deadly contest, the Long Walk, where all of the competitors must walk as far as they can until they cannot walk any longer. The last man still walking at the end wins. Anyone who stops gets taken out at the business end of a carbine.

But why would anyone take part in such a brutal zero-sum game with only a slim chance of winning, and where losing means a gruesome death? The dystopia of The Long Walk is set in an alternate universe version of the United States. The country’s spirit is broken after a long, debilitating war, and a fascistic, authoritarian regime, led by the malevolent Major (Hamill), now asserts its authority over the country. The Long Walk gets broadcast nationwide, and the contest supposedly inspires hope and production in the populace each year. Times are so tough that even though submitting for the lottery of the Long Walk is completely voluntary, young men are driven to enter the contest due to its promise of endless riches or the granting of a single wish. Enter young Raymond Garraty, who voluntarily chooses to take part in the Long Walk, against the wishes of his concerned mother (Greer). Garraty enters the Long Walk, not for riches or wealth, but for a far more personal reason connected to The Major.

Also participating in the long walk is a diverse group of blue-collar young men, who hope that winning might improve their lives or grant them wealth and comforts they never had back home. Garraty quickly befriends another walker, Peter McVries (Jonsson), who looks the picture of health and a strong, resilient spirit. Throughout the course of the grueling walk, young men are brutally executed all for the sake of crass entertainment, under the boot of a brutal, lugubrious leader. Amid such hardship and strife, Ray, Peter, and other walkers such as Hank Olson (Wang) and Arthur Baker (Nuyot) forge an ironic bond in the harshest of circumstances. The Long Walk has no finish line, and only one walker leaves the game as the victor.

For a writer who lives in the world of dark, macabre subject matter, The Long Walk certainly stands out as one of King’s more memorable, sadly tragic, and nihilistic works. Sure, King has explored dark subject matter before, but The Long Walk forces the audience to get to know and feel the deaths of all of its main characters. Lawrence stays true to the thematic subject matter of King’s novel. The Long Walk is an oppressively bleak, upsetting, dark, and brutal film. However, it works because Lawrence commits to the bleakness and stays true to King’s source material. The film does make some changes throughout the adaptation, from small to significant. The backgrounds of multiple characters have significantly changed, but not necessarily for the worse.

Stars Cooper Hoffman and Peter Jonsson deliver knockout performances, with Ray and Peter emerging as the main driving forces of the story. In a short time, they develop a strong bond, forming an unusual type of brotherhood. It makes sense because when walking alongside someone, the weight feels less tiresome than walking alone. Through the relationship of Ray and Peter, Lawrence builds one of the strongest cinematic presentations of male bonding and friendship in recent memory.

The other actors among the ensemble of walkers perform their roles exceptionally well. Even the smaller parts of walkers who get eliminated from the game quickly manage to make effective use of their screen time. It’s striking how each young man has a very distinct personality. All appear bright and optimistic, not fully grasping the consequences of the death game. Early on, Gary Barkovitch (Plummer) emerges as an antagonistic character who intentionally causes the elimination of another walker. Despite his initial heinous behavior, Plummer imbues the character with an intriguing type of mania, and perhaps an undiagnosed mental disorder. The character becomes oddly more sympathetic as the story progresses. Ultimately, since the Long Walk is an assured death sentence for almost all the competitors, it’s difficult not to feel anything for the victims who receive their losing tickets. The actors beautifully capture the game’s horrendous, senseless tragedy.

The Long Walk brilliantly resembles that microcosm of young men going off to war, which makes sense as King first conceived the novel in the 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War. Through characters like Garraty and some of the other walkers, the spirit of rebellion and cynicism endures. The film taps into the zeitgeist of wartime trauma and grief, presented through an alternate version of the U.S. that has been radically altered by war, where freedom of speech is an antiquated idea. Activities, ideas, and behaviors are now brutally regulated and enforced by The Major’s regime.

Mark Hamill is first-rate as the game’s malignant overseer, who also acts as the face of the country’s authoritarian government. Hamill keeps the character fairly broad, simply channeling a malicious military dictator. The Major plays more like a figurehead than a genuine character, which is probably for the best since fleshing out The Major’s characterization might have taken more focus away from the Walkers.

Lawrence’s pacing for the film works well. It reflects the brutal, grueling nature of the death game, as the walkers persevere to go as long as they can without falling below a pace of three miles an hour. Ultimately, the film finds its true strength in the indelible bonds forged by the young men walking to their doom in a hopeless, traumatic situation. The Long Walk leaves the audience with a great deal to ponder as they take their own long walk out of the theater.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

France Lawrence crafts a bleak, dark, and tragic adventure with The Long Walk. However, through its oppressive bleakness, beauty can be found in the unique and meaningful bonds formed by the walkers as they strive to walk a little further. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson deliver knockout performances in the lead roles of Ray Garraty and Peter McVries. Despite various changes from Stephen King's original novel, Lawrence wonderfully captures its darkly tragic spirit. The Long Walk makes the audience feel the grueling effects of a brutal death game, leaving the viewers in a similar state as its competitors.