(Murray Close / Lionsgate)
Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk reminded me of the type of TV movies you would see on basic cable in the late 1990s; but in a good way and with R-rated violence and language. A big part of that is because the ‘90s were THE decade of Stephen King screen adaptations, who is the author of the 1979 novel The Long Walk is based on. While more thriller than horror, and very character driven, the new film turns out to be one of the best releases to lead up to Halloween season in typical King fashion.
In a dystopian, alternate 1974, Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) wins the chance to represent his state in the annual ‘long walk’ contest across the US to win a huge cash prize and other gifts along with 49 other young men participating. The rules are simple: walk to the destination at a consistent speed of 3 MPH with no pausing for any reason whatsoever. If you stop walking, you get three warnings before being fatally shot by one of the lackies of The Major (Mark Hamill) moderating the walk. Along the week long, torturous process, Ray becomes acquainted with some of the other boys volunteering, including athletic Pete McVries (David Jonsson), stoic and statuesque Billy Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), smart-aleck Gary Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), geeky Hank Olson (Ben Wang), and tough guy Collie Parker (Joshua Odjick).
(Murray Close / Lionsgate)
Judy Greer appears as Ray’s concerned mother Ginnie. The Long Walk was adapted by J.T. Mollner and features a score by Jeremiah Fraites of the indie folk band the Lumineers. Lawrence’s previous experience directing the Hunger Games franchise (2013- ) makes him an obvious choice to film what is basically the proto, all-guy equivalent of The Hunger Games; as well as an update to something like Sydney Pollack’s classic They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). Generally speaking, The Long Walk is effectively grim and bleak in the way classic Stephen King is, and led by some pretty talented young actors, especially Hoffman and Jonsson as the two main contestants. The plot is basic, but the characters and cast are interesting enough to keep our attention the whole time. And if any parents are wondering, the movie fully deserves its R rating. This isn’t a situation similar to another Stephen King adaptation, Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me (1986), which was given an R for foul language [though there is plenty of that in The Long Walk too]. The deaths in the latter are very graphic and gory, and not for the squeamish. And to those wondering how exactly you would be able to relieve yourself while walking non-stop, there’s, uh, a graphic explanation for that too…