Walk or die — that is the rule in Francis Lawrence’s film, “The Long Walk.” Based on Stephen King’s 1979 novel, Lawrence gives a graphic and modern interpretation of the story. “The Long Walk” is an emotional and harrowing watch that forces the audience to think about the world they live in and the brutality that surrounds it.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
“The Long Walk” is set in a dystopian America left in financial ruin after war. To motivate the remaining population, a militaristic government chooses 50 young men out of a group of volunteers to participate in a televised event called “The Long Walk.” Those chosen are forced to walk hundreds of miles at a three-mile-per-hour pace. If they slow down, military soldiers shoot them. The lone survivor wins a life-changing amount of money and gets a single wish. Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson) are the film’s main duo in the competition, where they develop a friendship as they rely on each other to cope with the trauma along the walk.
Although it’s incredibly common for films to feature death and gore, there is no shying away from it in “The Long Walk.” I’ve found that violence is often perceived as blasé or brave in many films. This is not the case here. The first death happens to the youngest boy, Thomas Curley (Roman Griffin Davis), who is unable to continue walking due to a leg cramp. Ray attempts to keep him walking, but ultimately the boy falls and gets shot. Rather than showing us the gunman or the other player’s reactions, the scene focuses on Curley’s face twisting from the gunshot, letting us anticipate the detailed bloodshed to come.
Throughout the film, there are more on- and off-screen deaths. Even those that aren’t as graphic as Curley’s give the characters and the audience the same shocked reaction. Across the film, you watch how the boys mourn each other while simultaneously celebrating the betterment of their chances. The Major (Mark Hamill), the walk’s director and seemingly the leader of the country, encourages their selfish thinking: Everyone else has to lose for you to win.
This mindset is part of the film’s larger ideas. King originally wrote the novel during the Vietnam War, and its influences on the story are apparent. Ray makes several comments throughout the film about the nature of the walk: technically, nobody has to sign up. But if everyone else does, and you see no other option, is it really a choice? Ray’s reflections parallel the Vietnam War era’s illusion of choice: One either enlistsed or waited to be drafted. The walk is framed as voluntary, yet social pressure and limited options make that freedom largely symbolic.
But this new iteration, I believe, morphs the original metaphor into one about the ideals of a capitalist world. The long walk is disguised as a choice, but everyone views it as the only way out. Even characters who morally disagree are forced to participate, with no option of opting out. In the ruthless competition, theoretically, anyone can succeed, meaning everyone is your enemy. All one can do is outlast. Losing others and yourself is the cost of winning.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the system is irrelevant; you are in the world and on your own long walk. Many of the characters in the film believe the ideology they’ve been fed. However, Ray and Peter are the light in an otherwise very dark film. Ray represents the skepticism and anger to change things, coming into the walk to dismantle it through violent means. Peter serves as hope for change, reminding Ray that even those who revere the walk, such as the spectators, deserve to be saved.
The pair’s friendship gives them the strength to continue. Multiple times, Peter and Ray save each other, even if it’s against their best interest. Their goals also keep them going, as Ray intends to kill the Major at the end to incite change. Peter, halfway through the walk, announces that his wish would be to change the walk’s rules to two winners, to give more hope to the participants.
This relationship leaves the last moments of the film to be the most devastating. Ending differently from the book, the pair push each other to win. Ultimately, Ray sacrifices himself by stopping. When Peter realizes Ray is no longer at his side, Ray is shot. His final words thank Peter for being his brother and for showing him a light that he couldn’t see before meeting him.
When Ray is killed, Peter is declared the winner, and the Major asks for his wish. Rather than his positive dream from before, Peter wishes for the closest gun and shoots the Major. Everything else fades away from Peter’s view, and he continues walking. Peter fulfills Ray’s wish, but it doesn’t change anything. Having lost his hope, the violence Peter enacts is meaningless. “The Long Walk” says that revenge and selfishness aren’t actually what’s helpful. It’s the connections with other people and hope for more that keep us going.
