The Long Walk

4 outta 5

The Long Walk is a gritty grind of a movie. Directed by Francis Lawrence, who specializes in dystopian grind having directed multiple Hunger Games movies and I Am Legend, this is one of his better entries in that genre due to extreme violence giving it bite. This isn’t exactly hopeful; it’s of lots of people slowly walking to their demise and it does sort of get repetitive at points but is still an engrossing watch. It also features a bloodthirsty crowd of onlookers singing “America the Beautiful” at a moment of extreme violence, which feels apt for the U.S.A. right now.

In a dystopian America (slightly different from the current dystopian America) there is a contest called “The Long Walk” run by the military where contestants must walk at a pace and be the last one standing. The players get penalized every time they slow down until the third penalty where they “get their ticket” ie. Shot in the head. The winner gets an enormous cash prize and one wish granted. A contestant named Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) is walking in the contest, over the objection of his mother (Judy Greer), and he strikes up a friendship with other contestants, Peter (David Jonsson) and Hank (Ben Wang). They end up objecting to the actions of another player, Gary (Charlie Plummer), that got another player killed but Gary remains defiant. One determined player, Stebbins (Garrett Wareing) is making things complicated, but the guys are moving under the ever-watching military that will shoot them, led by the Major (Mark Hamill). And as they strike up friendships, each one is eventually killed with only one left for the prize.

This is basically a character piece that has a lot of chatty moments between folks interrupted by some messy violence. At first, the seem almost chipper at the prospect of the walk, comparing various strategies and making jokes. But when the first character is shot for slowing down, it is shown in a very messy closeup and things become intense. There is a repetitive bit where usually someone falls behind on the walk and they fade into the background out of focus, screaming, as a loudspeaker voice says the are incurring penalties, and then eventually a gunshot. The overriding sense of inevitability is palpable with doom in how each misstep earns the walkers a penalty that gets progressively more intense. Even something as simple as a cramp can get one shot in the head.

Overseeing everything is the Major, as Mark Hamill hides his eyes behind shades and speaks with a southern growl, encouraging the guys to keep walking. He has a great bit when he explains the rules of the long walk that Hamill makes really compelling. There are a few times when the Major shoots folks in the head, especially in a harrowing flashback scene, that Hamill plays as very cold. One moment when the tables have turned on him, he comes off as strangely paternal, saying that this one mistake can be rectified. Hamill’s Major is the grim spectre of death that hangs over the proceedings, with his army as silent, murderous companions.

There is a lot of fecal matter as players relieve themselves on the walk. It’s pretty gross. One guy who has diarrhea is very explicit and leads to his demise. There are a lot of people looking miserable along the walk and the grim vibe can be a bit overpowering. At first the players are coming together like the Musketeers, but they eventually realize that slowing down to help someone will just extend their agony, so they must leave people behind. There is a plot point that they’re falling asleep while still walking which seems very improbable but a bleak detail about the length of the walk.

Hoffman as Raymond is good as the lead, as he has the most to lose as he reveals a personal stake with the Major that makes his walk for the prize have some pathos. Of course, the likelihood he would win a lottery to get into the walk and face off against the Major is incredibly small, but it makes for good drama. The scenes with Greer are heartbreaking as she is in anguish at her son’s walk, and a moment when she meets him along the walk almost turns to tragedy. Wang as Hank is basically the comedy sidekick (he has a great riff about Robinson Crusoe) that has a bleak finale. Plummer’s Gary is the guy everyone hates who gets a dramatic exit, and Wareing as Stebbins also has an unlikely connection to the Major as he goes the distance. Jonsson is the best of the sidekicks as he has a lot of funny and stirring speeches to keep the convoy going as he bonds with Hoffman as they walk.

The Long Walk has a lot of moments of intensity and sacrifice, like a bit where a walker suddenly grabs the rifle and shoots down the soldiers in a moment of defiance. And some of the kills are just so brutal it reinforces how bleak this world is. But even with all the darkness, the characters overcome together which gives it a glimmer of hope. This isn’t a happy movie, but it is an intense one.