SYNOPSIS: Based on a Stephen King novel (written under the alias Richard Bachman) of the same name, “The Long Walk” is set in a world so hopeless that, ironically, a march to the death is the only option to obtain a better life. “One winner,” says the Major (Mark Hamill), “no finish line.”
CAST: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. Directed by JT Mollner.
REVIEW: “The Long Walk” covers a lot of ground. The story of march to the death is a harrowing look at authoritarianism and the extremes that despairing people will go in search of hope.
Set in a dystopian United States after a war has left the country struggling financially under a totalitarian government, the film centers around a televised endurance contest meant to inspire work ethic in the downtrodden public. Like “The Hunger Games,” but without the costumes or folk songs, the titular walk sees fifty young men volunteer to, as the Major (Mark Hamill) says, “walk until there’s only one of you left.”
“Anyone can win if you don’t give up!”
Fall behind or failed to keep pace you get a ticket, as in, get your ticket punched.
As the title suggests, “The Long Walk” is just that, a long walk punctuated by character insights, explosive diarrhea and the odd gunshot. It’s a horrifying situation, but despite King’s name attached to the project, this isn’t a horror film. There are no jump scares, nothing supernatural—unless you regard the walker’s ability to stay awake for five days on their 300-mile marathon as mystical—and the only monster comes in the form of a very human, totalitarian ruler known as The Major.
With a minimum of fuss director Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the “Hunger Games” movies, presents the story for what it is, a talky literary adaptation. The characters put one foot in front of the other and speak reams of dialogue, but Lawrence trusts the material to organically provide intensity as the audience gets to know and become involved in the lives and deaths of the characters.
It’s an ensemble piece, with a large cast of Hollywood up-and-comers like Tut Nyuot and Charlie Plummer, but it’s Cooper Hoffman as the resilient Raymond Garraty and David Jonsson as the loyal Peter McVries that stand out. They become the de facto leaders of the Walkers, and the guides who remind us that there are humans at the heart of the movie’s dehumanizing ordeal. Although they come to the Walk with differing motives, as friendship blossoms between Ray and Peter it suggests other King relationships born out of adversity, like John Coffey and Paul Edgecomb in “The Green Mile” or “The Shawshank Redemption’s” Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding. Their connection and empathy stand in stark contrast to the bleak backdrop of the Walk.
“The Long Walk” may be overlong and Hamill is one note in his portrayal of evil, but in the telling of the tale is a relentless intensity that builds until the film’s final, explosive moments.
Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit,” based on the book “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens, is an anti-hate satire pitched somewhere between “The Death of Stalin” and “Hogan’s Heroes.” The director of “Thor: Ragnarok” and “What We Do in the Shadows” takes some liberties with the book, even conjuring images of Adolph Hitler, but holds true to the book’s exploration of the dark heart of obsession.
Set in World War II-era Germany, the movie stars newcomer Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo “Rabbit” Betzler a ten-year-old and member of his local Hitler Youth group. The youngster is discovering the world and making decisions about his place in it. That includes embracing Nazism and all its ugly ideology. “He’s a fanatic,” says his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson). “It took them three weeks to get over that his grandfather was not blonde.”
Jojo has even created an imaginary friend in the form of Adolph Hitler (Waititi) who provides the kind of encouragement his absent father isn’t able to. “You’re the bestest, nicest, most loyal little Nazi I’ve ever seen.”
What Jojo doesn’t know is that his mother is working with the Resistance and is hiding Elsa, a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. The discovery of Elsa makes Jojo confront his belief system and a set of feelings as he comes of age.
“Jojo Rabbit” is going to polarize people. Some will see a film that simply treats Nazis as goofy caricatures and not the malevolent force of evil they were/are. Others may be offended by the use of extreme racial stereotypes for satirical effect. Waititi takes no prisoners on either account although he ends the movie with a clear and uncut message from poet Rainer Maria Rilke that, for some, will bring everything into focus. “Let everything happen to you / Beauty and terror / Just keep going / No feeling is final.”
“Jojo Rabbit’s” exploration of the power of love’s ability to defeat fascism, no matter how farcical, is a powerful message, particularly in our increasingly cynical age. It’s an uneven film, indulgent at times, but between the laughs are some very effective moments.
As usual Waititi’s ear for music adds much to the experience. “Komm, gib mir deine Hand” the German language version of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” fills the soundtrack as images of Hitler Youth pumping their fists in the air fill the screen, providing a brilliant and subversive comparison of two kinds of fanaticism, Beatlemania and National Socialism. Later David Bowie’s “Helden” (“Heroes”) provides a sentimental blast as the final credits roll.
“Jojo Rabbit” isn’t simply an anti-hate movie as the ads say. More importantly, it’s a pro-love movie. The darkness inherent in the story is filtered through the experience of a ten-year grappling with concepts he simply doesn’t understand. Lonely and shy about a scar on his face (“He looks like a Picasso painting,” says Rebel Wilson as an instructor in the Hitler Youth camp) he looks to the Hitler Youth and their perverted ideas because they will accept him. As Elsa says, “You’re not a Nazi, Jojo. You’re a 10-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club.” Viewed through that lens the story becomes one of a misguided, ignored child simply looking for a home. In the end he discovers change is possible; that there is much more to life than hate.
