The Long Walk

It’s a metaphor for capitalism.

Man I’m exhausted after watching this. Honestly, was a little shocked at the glowing reviews going into this, the first ten minutes felt like I was being teed up for a different movie.

Quippy dialogue, serviceable cinematography and a story that felt like it was perhaps going to pull its feet. I’m so happy I was wrong.

Ooft is this just consecutive gut punches until you reach a point of breaking. You very quickly get attached to these characters (haters will say it’s very save the cat but hey it worked) so every time a gun is fired you feel the recoil reverberate right through your soul.

I applaud, and also cowered, at the films audacity to not shy away from the extreme violence, and grotesque nature of this morbid world. It certainly enhances the film, as it does just get progressively more intense to endure. (I think it’s even more commendable given how easy this would’ve been to fall into some teen dystopian movie if they wanted to get viewers).

It’s smart since the film really is just watching these men walk, it gives you a lot of time to unpack what put them here in the first place, and the commentary the film is making. Wild hunch but I think capitalism might be dooming the world?

It’s strange, it, in parts, has a lot going for it. How capitalism corrupts even the purest of souls, how upper classes really want to view the inner fightings of working classes, and more so how our world is constructed that way, how people born into this system seek to destroy it from the inside but even this corrupts them. There’s a lot going on and I loved that shit… but also it felt very thin.

Like the commentary is being made but it’s not really unpacking it or doing much with these ideas. I don’t know maybe that’s the point, the world is bleak and capitalism has ruined everything why dig deeper? Still would’ve been nice if they did explore this more, even through some of the conversations they have, when they do ease into it, it’s when the film is at its strongest.

What the film delivers on in buckets full is emotional moments, lord I was a blubbering mess in scenes. It’s a little on the nose but I found the “brother” stuff so compelling. Probably due to the insane dual lead performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson. Much like a walk, the first step was the hardest, it found its rhythm though, and has such a massive relief when it finished