The Long Walk: A Contest of Pacing Patience (Early Review)

Through the onslaught of film and television adaptations based on Stephen King’s extensive and acclaimed work, it is inevitable that audiences finally see the other twisted dystopian game written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. One of King’s earliest creations, The Long Walk has surprisingly taken over 45 years to adapt despite the popularity of similar works during the peak of 80s King adaptations, increasingly made humorous by Edgar Wright’s adaptation of The Running Man merely two months after the former is released. Fittingly tackling this deadly contest pitting teenagers and young adults against each other is the mastermind behind the popularized Hunger Games films, as director Francis Lawrence flexes an intermissive, familiar exercise before Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters next year.

The film closely follows the annual contest that young men endure, in hopes of being the last man still walking on two feet. Wasting little effort on exposition and plot setup, The Long Walk thrusts audiences straight into a deadly game thanks to the writing mind of JT Mollner, known for the critically acclaimed Strange Darling. Saying potentially his final goodbyes to his mother Ginnie (Judy Greer), Ray Garraty (Hoffman) joins the contest, quickly making friends and foes on the starting line. Outlined by the forwardness of the detestable Major (Mark Hamill), the simplicity of this voluntary game of death is easily masked in the casual camaraderie of these motivated men. Ray, Peter (Jonsson), Arthur (Tut Nyuot), and Hank (Ben Wang) rapidly share each other’s stories and motivations, when all they can really do is move forward indefinitely at the pace of three miles per hour.

The periodic bursts of brutal gore, as these men reach their inevitable demise provide an awakening to the surprising barbarity that awaits them. Despite an evident absence of the extent of this portrayal, in comparison to the pessimistic, grim nature of the acclaimed book, King fans can find solace in the relief that Lawrence’s adaptation does not completely water down the terrifying tone characterized by the soldiers stalking for any slowing slip-up and Hamill’s taunting but encouraging speeches to victory. Hamill’s inclusion, while sparse, provides an intriguing and intimidating presence, emulating the verbal cruelty of a more manipulative R. Lee Ermey in his past military roles.

Although Lawrence and Mollner can be applauded for committing to the isolated, candidness of this simple story that breaks the conventions of film structure and characterization, The Long Walk may be its own contest for crowd patience as the characters are literally pacing through the film. Mollner’s inability to enrich the complex deterrents to this newfound friend group provides an ineffective understanding of who really poses a threat to Ray’s success – his ominous competition that’s not fully developed or his irrational behavior towards the totalitarian regime that has taken over this dystopian version of the United States. While scarcely incorporating the inevitable losses of these volunteers, the film is vastly absent of the tension behind the character emotions of the original book.

The growing popularity of competitive reality television and fictional deadly games made The Long Walk such a viable candidate to adapt, after decades of lying around in the King library. Examples such as The Hunger Games and Squid Game were the litmus test towards the success of depicting the corporate, entertaining, televised brutality behind the average individual hoping to win life-changing money through near-impossible odds. Ultimately, the film becomes too complacent in copying this idea of a flawed dystopian system needing to be destroyed from the inside that it overlooks the emotional weight and tension that made the original book such a riveting staple of King’s collection.

Above all else, director Francis Lawrence’s take on The Long Walk reaffirms his efficiency in building worlds for these deadly games, but his skills are halted by his inability to generate the emotional weight and tension that makes this King story such a compelling, character-driven success.

still courtesy of Lionsgate

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Costa Christoulas

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