The Long Walk Review

The road to moving Stephen King’s The Long Walk from page to screen has been long and winding. Since the 80s, directors – and King collaborators – such as George A Romero and Frank Darabont had been attached to the project, but it seemed almost cursed. Other things got in the way, rights lapsed, and time dragged on. Until last year. Lionsgate had picked up the concept, assigned director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), and shooting was underway in the summer. And it’s been more than worth the wait.

In dystopian America in the not-too-distant future, Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) receives a letter which reads like a cross between a 1960s draft notice and a death sentence. Through a ballot, he’s won a place on The Long Walk, an event designed by the totalitarian regime to motivate, entertain and distract the population from the realities of a post-war economy spiralling out of control. As one of a number of young men from all over the country, he starts out on a walk without a finish line, one with deceptively simple rules. Each walker has to keep up a minimum pace of three miles per hour; stopping isn’t allowed for any reason, and anybody repeatedly falling below the speed is shot. Surrounded by troops headed by their faceless leader, The Major (Mark Hamill), they’re constantly supervised, and the goal is to keep walking until only one contestant is left. Limitless money and the prize of their dreams awaits.

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On the face of it, continuous walking doesn’t sound especially frightening or difficult, in much the same way that the dance marathon of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) initially sounded innocuous. The road at the outset of The Long Walk stretches ahead, long and flat, so it looks easy. But factor in the unforgiving surface, the weather, the need for what we’ll politely call “natural breaks”, and the relationships between the walkers, and the prospects start looking somewhat darker. The reality of the rules becomes all too clear when we witness the first casualty. Little or nothing is left to the imagination when young Curly (Roman Griffin Davis) finds it difficult to walk and is brutally executed. The others try to help but have to make sure their own speeds don’t suffer. As more deaths follow, some at close quarters, others at a distance, the journey becomes a nightmare, and a viciously steep gradient produces a chilling massacre.

Lionsgate’s decision to put Lawrence at the helm is as on the button as you can get. With his Hunger Games experience, the dystopian world is very much his territory, as is the concept of a tension-filled game with real people as the contestants – a latter-day gladiatorial contest, if you like. As the walkers trudge along a road lined by burnt-out cars, the occasional spectator and a field of the saddest sunflowers you’ll ever see, we get to know one small group and learn their backstories, so losing any of them hurts. Some 350 miles later, our nerves are shredded, we know that the idea of somebody winning is just more propaganda, and we’re emotionally exhausted. And the cast, both as an ensemble and as individuals, have all found a way to our hearts. Hoffman and David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) create a brotherly bond in roles that allow them to showcase their considerable talents. Jonsson, however, has the edge as his cool exterior peels away to reveal an unexpected past that has literally left its mark. Alongside them are Charlie Plummer, Garrett Wareing, Davis and Tut Nyuot. Some of them are more familiar than others, but all are destined for even greater things.

King adaptations don’t get much better than this. True, we’ve already had The Life Of Chuck this year, but in The Long Walk, we’re back to the essential King, with ambiguous but nonetheless sympathetic characters, a seemingly straightforward story with a lot to say and a seamless mix of thriller and horror. It will warm your heart and make your blood run cold.

★★★★★

In cinemas from September 12^th / Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Mark Hamill, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis / Dir: Francis Lawrence / Lionsgate / 15

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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