The Long Walk has a simple, yet terrifying, premise: Walk or die.
Based on the first novel ever written by Stephen King (with the same title) TLW depicts a fractured America in which 50 teenagers engage in a televised competition to walk farther than anyone else in the group. The primary rule is that they must maintain a speed of at least 3 miles per hour. If they don’t, they receive a warning. If they receive three warnings, they face elimination. The last man walking is the winner.
Why compete in such a deadly contest? TLW portrays an authoritarian regime filled with crippling financial pressures. The victor is relieved of those burdens for good, earning a large cash prize and any wish they desire.
Francis Lawrence serves as the movie’s director; an appropriate choice, considering his work on other Orwellian projects like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 & 2, and I Am Legend.
An area where TLW diverges from Lawrence’s past films is in the America it depicts. The sweeping pastures and dreams promised are strikingly recognizable. Nothing feels futuristic or far removed from the reality we inhabit, which in effect, establishes TLW as a haunting mirror for society that exists today.
“What really stuck with me over the years is the camaraderie that develops among the walkers,” Lawrence remarked, in his reading of the novel and adaptation. “Even though they’re technically competitors… the relationship between Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and McVries (David Jonsson) is what gives the story its emotional center.”
Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, takes the mantle of motion picture lead for the second time in his young career (the first being Licorice Pizza, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe).
The Long Walk’s trailer captures the playful innocence and hope that any teenager with a dream might exhibit. However, the youthful light quickly dims as the harsh realities of the competition become apparent.
The deep, and in this case foreboding, voice of Grammy-nominated artist Shaboozey pairs with Stephen Wilson Jr.’s melodic guitar plucks to occupy the trailer. “Took a Walk” provides a sonic slice of Americana that searches for hope in a futureless place. Inspired by the movie itself, the track will also appear in the end credits and is streaming across all major digital platforms.
Be sure to check out The Long Walk, which hits theaters nationally on Friday, September 12. Tickets are on sale now.