I’ve always been a fan of Stephen King and while in recent years, I’ve preferred more taut writing, I do love his earlier works. When I heard about The Long Walk, I was intensely curious. Strangely enough, it’s one of the few early works I haven’t read so I really wanted to see the film just to check out the story. After watching the film, I found the story relentlessly powerful, the writing emotional with a well executed idea, and some of the best performances I’ve seen all year. 

The Long Walk is a dystopian survival thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay written by JT Mollner. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name written by Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. In a dystopian America, ruled by a totalitarian regime, a walking contest known as the “Long Walk” is held annually with a man known as the  Major (Mark Hamilton) presiding. Teenage participants must walk at least 3mph or risk execution if they stop. The walkers get three warnings but can have one warning removed per hour of walking without a warning. The contest ends when only one walker remains with the winner receiving a cash prize and one wish, allowing them to get whatever they want. Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) enters after joining a lottery to be selected along with 49 other boys from around the country. He soon bonds with several of the others, including Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), Collie Baker (Joshua Odjick), Gary Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), and Hank Olsen (Ben Wang). Each of the boys has a reason for walking but only one can win. Will Ray make it to the end or will he fail in his mission? The film also stars Judy Greer as Ray’s mother. 

What makes this film so powerful is the simple idea, walk or die. While all the boys are nominally volunteers, the poverty and hardship around the country, including homelessness don’t offer them much choice. Even if only one of them wins, they all have hope that they will be that one. It is in the execution of the story that is powerful because as we get to know each boy and their reason for walking, we empathize with them. We see them bond with each other and we care about them so as each one dies, it becomes more impactful, almost brutal to see their deaths. There is an inescapable tension and horror to watching the boys walk to their death and nowhere along that walk does any death lose its impact. Each one is powerful and emotional.

One of the aspects that makes the story feel so wrought with tension is that each boy’s fate is a surprise; we never know whether they will survive until the end or what their ultimate death will be. The story does a great job of having each death be different, sometimes poignant and some simply ironic. And while the tension is broken by humorous moments, the emotional bonds between the boys, especially the friendship between Ray and Peter, is what keeps the story moving forward and impacting each time one of the boys dies. It is simply relentless psychological horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat hoping these boys survive but knowing only one will. 

It is the brilliant performances that drive this film. Cooper Hoffman as Ray and David Jonsson as Peter are particularly the highlight of the film with their dynamic and emotional connection. Ray confides secrets to Peter as to why he’s walking and that connection is clear when each helps and supports the other to survive. Both Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson give emotional and powerful performances. But each of the actors in this film highlight both the hope and despair the young men feel as they walk and try to survive, each has a moment where they shine, especially the main cast, Garrett Wareing, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, and Joshua Odjit. Mark Hamilton simply gives a chilling performance as the Major, showing just how scary a totalitarian government would be. 

There are simply no flaws in this film. While I do caution that it can at times be brutal and violent, it is simply a relentlessly powerful film with some of the best performances I’ve seen all year, emotional and brilliant. If you like Stephen King or you like dystopian thrillers, I cannot recommend this higher. I loved the way the film built the connections and friendships between the boys while simultaneously setting up the expectation that only one would survive. I imagine that we will see amazing things from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson because both give intense and emotional performances alongside a cast of brilliant actors. While it might be a simple idea, the execution is far more complex and compelling. I suggest watching it for the amazing performances and excellent story. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 tickets

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