Review: The Long Walk – Rather die on my feet

Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill

8.5/10

For a film that’s ostensibly just about men walking in a straight line, The Long Walk is remarkably tense and gruelling, yet deeply rewarding in its portrayal of differing viewpoints on this controversial contest. Obviously there’s a violent catch to all this walking, filling this story with fitness-related gore and enduring dread, as it takes an uneasy, though sometimes uplifting, insight into man’s competitive nature.

In a dystopian alternative United States plagued by poverty, the annual walking contest is taking place, where each participant must maintain a steady pace of three miles an hour. If they lag behind that and don’t get back to speed after a few quick warnings, they “receive their ticket” (i.e., a bullet in the head). The walk ends when there’s one last man standing, who receives a hefty cash prize, along with a granted wish.

This film really makes the most of its disturbing concept in many different ways. In terms of the exhaustion these participants experience, both physical and mental, the film is very uncompromising with how much it shows. But what stops it from being too monotonously rough to watch is the way these participants interact with each other, which is thankfully where the film puts its main focus. This brutal walk really unveils so many differing characteristics and viewpoints, showing a range in cockiness, stoicism, psychological sabotage and solidarity.

There’s not a single ineffective performance among the bunch, and Mark Hamill is also a riot in his unrecognisable role as the authoritarian Major behind all this, hiding behind a pair of aviators and a gruff, very militaristic voice. The biggest complaint you could have about him is that he isn’t in the film enough.

The Long Walk does have a sense that it needs to separate itself from previous films that touched upon ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ tale, such as Battle Royale or the Hunger Games series (the latter of which Francis Lawrence has directed all but one of its entries, including a forthcoming one), as well as the disturbing 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (which incorporated dancing instead of walking). Whereas these films covered the spectator and surveillance aspect of this broadcast game in a terrifying dystopia, The Long Walk gives us just a lean glimpse into these aspects and even keeps its setting very vague—this appears to be in modern-day America, but it could happen in any country.

The film very quickly shows that it’s not shying away from the bodily effects. Not only do we see in close-up gory detail when the men receive their ticket (which the surviving participants seem to take a gander at as well), there’s plenty of bloody feet to be seen, and some of the film’s most intense moments actually come from seeing if a participant can crap quickly enough before they get a bullet in the head.

Ultimately, there doesn’t seem to be any major twists or turns throughout the story – just like the road they’re on, the film keeps things on the straight and narrow so that it can put all attention on the participants. Despite the gloominess and intensity of such a concept, The Long Walk is effective for how it shows the differences and similarities between how these men view such a disturbing game.

DAVID MORGAN-BROWN