Movie Review - The Long Walk

I read Stephen King's novella (Under the name Richard Bachman) that this is adapted from, but that was decades ago. I remember nothing more than the general premise: in some dystopian future, some boys go for a walk and get shot if they fall below three miles/hour.

I've thought for a long time that this should be a movie. It's so simple to shoot, but not easy to act. I've noticed for a while that there are more and more scripts that put few demands on the cast to portray deep emotions. There are many scripts with situations to act and react to, but they don't require the actor to respond viscerally. Acting feels muted in many of the movies I see today. Not so much with this one. These young men pour out a range of emotions, and not just one or two of them. Even the characters in the background get their moments. There's only one woman in the entire movie, Ray's mother. She had only a few minutes on screen, but she was magnificent every second. In one scene, she was so emotional I thought she might vomit.

7:42●●● 95%

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This is the second Stephen King adaptation to hit the theaters this year—The Life of Chuck. Interestingly, Mark Hamill is in both. His role here, as the Major, is surprisingly challenging. He never takes off his sunglasses, leaving him to do the lion’s share of his acting with his voice, which he is superb at. I can see why he was chosen.

A friend of mine pointed out that Raymond "Ray" Garraty, one of the two main characters, is played by Cooper Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman's son. It's fitting that Cooper's first lead role comes in a dystopia, just as his father's last role was in a dystopia: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Cooper has some big shoes to fill, but if this movie is any indication, he's on his way.

Stephen King Observation

Last night, I noticed a pattern that repeats itself in many Stephen King adaptations. He writes about unrelated people coming together and forming a family. That's certainly true of The Long Walk, but there's also Stand By Me that makes a family out of four young boys, Shawshank Redemption takes a bunch of prisoners and makes them a family, It takes a small group of young friends and does the same. The Green Mile, The Mist, Dreamcatcher, also follow this pattern. It's not like Stephen King is the only one who does this. Maybe it stands out because he does it better than almost anyone else.

Grade: B+

Plot
A group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as "The Long Walk," where they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.