One of a few Stephen King adaptations to hit our screens this year, The Long Walk, published in 1979, releases this Friday featuring a stellar cast including David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus), Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars). Directed by Francis Lawrence who also helmed most of the dystopian franchise The Hunger Games, the film is set in an alternate-America ruled by a totalitarian regime. 50 teenage boys volunteer to take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains. Wrought with tension and anxiety, The Long Walk is a perfectly acted, well paced dystopian thriller with high stakes and an even higher death rate. It’s as emotional as it is thrilling.
In another world, a script of this movie exists that features cutaway scenes to the entire country watching this televised event, seeing their friends and loved ones meet their painful demise and rooting for their favorites, in true Hunger Games fashion. However, writer J.T. Mollner (Strange Darling) keeps things simpler than this, following the 50 young lads on their walk for the entire duration of the movie. Not only does this allow the audience to bond with them and form connections to the characters, but it increases the stakes tenfold and fully immerses us into their tough walk. Forced to keep the pace of 3 miles per hour or risk being killed, we must endure every footstep taken, injury received and water flask drained, as the miles rack up on a walk with no finish line. We receive minimal backstory or information about this dystopian world the characters live in, and though this might sound as if it lacks development, it works perfectly. Thrust almost straight into the walk, only informed that the prize is worth the risk of death, it’s not only effectively jarring but instantly immersive. It doesn’t need to over-inflate itself with backstory.
Following a group of characters for the almost two-hour run-time means we must rely on strong performances from this dialogue driven affair, and luckily, The Long Walk produces plenty of them. Front and centre is upcoming star David Jonsson, who is an absolute revelation. Delivering both his emotional beats and upbeat charismatic moments with ease, he is the beating heart of the movie who keeps the motivation running and the central friendships strong. His new best friend Garraty is played tremendously well by Cooper Hoffman, who follows in his father’s footsteps by giving a memorable performance in a Lawrence-helmed movie. Incredibly down to earth and desperate to survive to give his Mum a better life, he is a central character all can relate to. His Mum receives minimal screen-time as she’s not alongside our characters, but played expertly by Judy Greer (Jurassic World), packs the most emotional punch of the movie. Ben Wang (The Karate Kid: Legends) brings the humor and even more promising star power, and Charlie Plummer (Moonfall) may not play the most likable character, but it’s impossible not to get behind his performance. Every young lad building up our group of 50 bring something to the table, making for a diverse cast. Mark Hamill may be a bit one note in the villainous role of The Major, but everything he does is great regardless. The cast are excellent.
The filmmaking on display is simple yet effective, in order to let the emotions and dialogue take charge. Due to how tragic the deaths are and how much is shown, it borders on horror territory at points, definitely ensuring it packs the punch and isn’t for the faint of heart. Despite knowing that all but one of our characters will meet their demise, the stakes can still be felt, and each death scene is as sad, and creative, as the last. Despite simplistic filmmaking, this is plenty of beautiful cinematography that shines through, keeping the walk through desolate areas as visually engaging as it can be. The nighttime sequences are stunning to look at, the young men outlined by menacing truck lights behind them, monitoring their every move. The writing itself also keeps things fresh, injecting plenty of fun, effective humor into the emotional script that doesn’t take away from the tear-jerking scenes. The conversations between the boys feel naturalistic and real, giving The Long Walk a slice-of-life approach. The cherry on top is the direction from Francis Lawrence, who is the clear choice when considering his previous work. His style and tone matches the story being told flawlessly, and he handles the boys with as much care as he handled the tributes during the Hunger Games.
The Long Walk is by no means an easy watch due to its raw emotion and graphic violence, but is certainly a worthwhile one. Boasting excellent performances across the board, tight writing, a well-paced run-time and excellent visuals, Stephen King’s gut-wrenching story has been brought to the big screen successfully. It manages to perfectly show off the young talent Hollywood currently has on offer, alongside King’s ability to craft horrifying yet intimate stories. Memorable from start to finish, The Long Walk is not to be missed.
