In my lifetime of loving movies, a few come to mind as ones I considered fantastic but that I’d never want to see again. Requiem For A Dream, Irreversible, American History X, and The Last King of Scotland count among them, mostly for their graphic brutality. I now can add The Long Walk to that category, a powerful, beautifully made film which pulls no punches in its graphic depictions of violence. Directed by Francis Lawrence (three of The Hunger Games films), written by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), and adapted from the first novel Stephen King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, The Long Walk tells the story of a dystopian America. Although unclear with its time period, we see a mixture of cars and stores which could have existed anywhere between the 1950s and the 1980s. In this setting, the government, clearly totalitarian, sponsors an annual event in which a young man from each state gets chosen to participate in a marathon walk. As Mark Hamill’s imposing Major spells out, the last one standing receives untold riches and will be granted one wish. Everyone else, whether they can’t maintain the required pace or don’t follow the rules, gets murdered.
Into the fray, we meet our large cast of characters led by Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson, Alien: Romulus). Raymond has a gut-wrenching goodbye with his mother (a brief but devastating performance by Judy Greer) and then we’re off to the races. Mollner and Lawrence impress immediately with the setup’s economy and how tapped into emotions their characters appear. Raymond immediately bonds with Peter, a charismatic, confident and friendly guy, albeit with scars that tell another story. In a supporting cast stacked with talent, standouts include Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), antagonistic; Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), mysterious; Baker (Tut Nyuot), guileless; and Olson (Ben Wang), filled to the brim with New York aggression. I also thought Jordan Gonzalez brought a quiet pathos to his performance, Roman Griffin Davis from Jojo Rabbit kept me on edge, and Joshua Odjick brings a stalwart movie star energy.
Since only one can win and survive, all of the contestants are technically competitors, yet they form deep bonds along the way. While not entirely clear, one can infer a desperation amongst the men. Life under this regime must feel so hopeless and oppressive that this contest may feel like their only ticket out. Those stakes feel best represented by Hamill, unrecognizable behind those shades and the command of a military lifer. He’s the Angel Of Death in camouflage. His role may seem one note, but he hits that note perfectly.
Much like The Hunger Games, the film depicts loss after loss, albeit rarely shying away from the realities of gun violence or the inevitability of bodily waste. Although I can never unsee some of those images, I admire a film committed to unflinchingly telling its story. Lawrence, along with his cinematographer Jo Willems, does his best filmmaking to date. It’s no easy feat to keep a plot like this from feeling monotonous, claustrophobic and repetitive, yet he brings a quiet propulsion to this, always keeping us gripped and emotionally engaged.
Hoffman, son to the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman, takes a fairly standard, perhaps slightly bland lead role and infuses him with vivid humanity. I’d say you can’t take your eyes of of him, but Jonsson electrifies in an Oscar-worthy performance of a man torn between his innate goodness and thirst for vengeance. All told, it’s truly one of the best ensembles I’ve seen in quite some time.
Mollner’s script, while filled with many characters barely sketched in, manages to make us care for all of them. I found myself brought to tears several times throughout, and not always because of the shocking deaths, but because of the truly touching bonds formed. Although the novel got published in 1979, the topic couldn’t feel more timely. In such a divided world, it’s profoundly moving to witness people from all walks of life find a common ground. The film forces you to reflect on our current situation. What is the best strategy for facing off against your oppressors or those on the opposite side of the political spectrum? It offers no easy answers, in fact, it may feel even more complex by the time you stumble out of the theatre, taking that very long walk back to you car, wondering what the next step forward will look like. Isn’t that what great art should do?
By Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic
The Long Walk opens in theaters on Friday, September 12th.
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