valentyncolton

Knowing the book, and having a chance to audition for the project - i have very mixed feelings about the movie, after seeing it.

It does well at translating the overall idea of the book and the Long Walk in general. The fear, desperation and hope all are present through a good acting and cinematic brutality. It makes an honest attempt at making us care for some of the characters, showing humanity even in the most stoic of characters. A feeling of brotherhood gets established.

However, a lot of key points from the original story were missed. From characters' behaviour and backstory to major plot points (garrity's love for his girlfriend, who was completely errased/ the full on psychotic, stick it to the man, death of Barkovitch / most and importantly the ending). I was very disappointed with the ending as they practically ad-libbed it giving a straightforward ending, whereas in a book it carries more mystery and weight.

All in all, I believe that it was an okay attempt at adapting the book where everything happens during a literal long walk. For the movie format, you need to pick your battles when it comes to the source material, but still it might have worked better as a limited series - it would have allowed to create more tension, allow the audience connect more and be closer to the source material.