Culture
‘The Long Walk’ is a harrowing journey, but one that’s worth taking
By: Gordon Briggs
Posted on:
Our world seems to be awash in cinematic dystopias.
Whether it’s the world of horror with zombies, science fiction with evil AI enslaving humans, or action movies featuring any number of climate change catastrophes filling screens, our local movie theaters are packed with pictures set in a future where humanity is in environmental peril or mankind is being miserable to its own kind.
However, The Long Walk felt different. With its simple setting of a long, empty road that runs through various small towns and brutal depiction of a future where the state proudly sends young men off to die, the movie is both a disturbing journey through a world gone wrong and an effective adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.
Here, set in an alternative future, we follow the story of a small group of young men who are forced to participate in a grueling high-stakes contest where they must continuously march down a long road across America or be shot by a military escort. Their doomed journey is watched over by the menacing presence of “The Major” (Mark Hamill), who travels among the walkers in a jeep, representing the cold, authoritarian control overseeing the event.
For all the dystopian movies that depict decayed cities and computer-generated mass destruction, there’s something remarkably lived-in and relatable about how this film visualizes this world.
As we march along the road with these boys, the environment is a desolate but beautiful rural America, portrayed with a dreary, mid-century aesthetic that evokes Dust Bowl photographs, or images from a blighted American Heartland.
I was especially drawn to the story’s lack of hope. The boys walk through small ghost towns and cornfields, sometimes being shot in the head for collapsing. We get the impression that even though what we are seeing is horrific, in this world, state-sponsored violence is a regular occurrence. That decision to turn the ordinary act of walking into something disturbing leads to some very tense moments. For instance, there’s a harrowing scene where tension is built around whether a walker can make it up a steep hill.
The movie’s terrors are psychological and relatable. For instance, walkers are forbidden from stopping to use the bathroom and must relieve themselves while walking. Not only is this part of the story’s brutal, dehumanizing design, but it’s also very relatable. I’ve never been forced to fight a giant robot or compete to the death, but we can all identify with the urge to relieve ourselves and not being able to do so.
The film’s constant stream of death can be depressing, but what keeps it from being oppressive is the gifted cast of actors playing the doomed marchers. The collection of different people from around the world willfully marching to death can’t help but be read as an allegory for the Vietnam War.
However, if there’s one actor I want to single out, it’s David Jonsson as one of the main walkers. As he did in Alien: Romulus, Jonsson has a natural charisma that distinguishes him from others in the cast. He is an actor who commands your attention and rallies the audience behind him by actually being kind to his fellow walkers.
In the end, The Long Walk is a powerful film that succeeds because it never feels the need to uplift its audience. Much like the journey it depicts, the work is bleak and brutal, yet still worth it.
Rating: ★★★1/2