Saw The Long Walk and I need to talk about it

⚠️ Content warning! This will contain spoilers for The Long Walk (movie adaptation) and there might be mentions of graphic death scenes. Proceed with caution!⚠️

Originally, we were going to see Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein, but none of our theaters were showing it. Instead, we went to see The Long Walk. I went in completely blind with a very brief summary of the plot. Holy. Shit.

This is kind of a movie review, but I have a lot to talk about. So all my thoughts will be broken up into sections.

World building: I assume this is set around the 60's, judging from the cars, way the guys dress, and personal interpretation that I'll mention later. The world is very dystopian considering the way people act about the walk, you're not allowed to speak bad about the walk or the government, and from what we can learn from the main character Raymond, it's wrong to teach the "old way of life". So, why the walk? The United States experienced a war that left them in economic struggle and the people need hope. Healthy men all across the country sign up and one from each state is chosen to represent. The prize? Crap tons of money and one wish. The rules for the walk are simple. The guys walk for an indefinite amount of time until one is left. They have to keep a 3mph pace and falling behind that pace will result in a warning. The amount of warnings you get can be reset after a few hours, but if you get three warnings at once, you're done for.

The characters: I recommended trying not to get too attached to them. So most of the guys are named, but some aren't. I also can't remember some of their names or I don't know how to spell them, so bear with me. We have a main group of guys that interact with each other the most, that being Raymond/Ray, Peter, Arthur, and Orison/Hank. I'll be calling them The Musketeers (as they call themselves that). There are three others that last almost as long, but I only remember the name of one (Collie Parker), but they're kinda assholes. Though, they have their reasons for being mean or bitter. There's also a few named guys, but they don't really last long and there's some that just aren't named at all.    I want to mention some of the motivations for them because I feel it gives some insight on them. Ray wants to get revenge on the major to avenge his father. He wants to change the system and end the walk. Arthur says he's in it for the money after having experienced poverty and asks for a rocket so he leaves to the moon, wanting to seek somewhere better than here. Peter wants to help kids who were like him, who had no one. Hank wants ten naked ladies. I think that was more of a joke answer, but we never know if that was truly what he wanted. One of the guys is the bastard son of the major and wishes to be taken in by him. 

Death (possible content warning!): This movie gets extremely graphic in this part, so I'll try not to give equal graphic descriptions. So a lot of the deaths were because they fell behind, but I want to go more into that. 

• The hill: As the ground walked, they reached an uphill portion. Ray even says "fuck me" in response. Most lost pace and ended up getting shot. The morning after, Peter says 14 were lost, leaving only 18 left. The fucked up part of this scene is that they were dropping like flies. You could even see a soldier come up behind Ray, ready to drop him before Peter helps him pick up pace.
• Injury: only two really died from injury. One kid got aggravated, fell and scraped up his face. He couldn't get up in time and they popped him. Another, the writer kid, broken his ankle during the hill scene and couldn't keep up pace.
• Health complications: One dropped due to a seizure, a kid cramped up and couldn't keep pace, and, one the grossest scenes, a guy got the shits. The major's son ended up with liver failure, but this wasn't what killed him (thought it was worth mentioning though). Arthur ended up with an internal hemorrhage and grew weak from blood loss.
• It was a mistake: Orison was already starting to grow weak, but he eventually stopped because he wanted to go home. Arthur tried going back for him after he was already shot. He told him that it was a mistake. We ended up learning that he had a wife at home.
• Mental break: A two unnamed guys tried making a run for it, but didn't get too far. One of the guys (the actual douche bag) felt guilty for killing one of the guys. He was the one who aggravated the kid who fell and believed he was the reason he died. Ended up stabbing himself. Collie Parker already held resentment for authority and the government, as we see when they passed through a town, he called one of the cops a pig. He grabbed a soldier's gun, shot one, and ended up shooting himself. His death was the one that got me the most because 1) he was the only native guy and 2) as he died, he sung a bit in his native langage.
• His wish: The major's son actually died because he was ill and couldn't go on, but he realized the major never recognized him and his wish wouldn't come true. 
• Sacrifice: By the end, it was Ray and Peter. Only one could truly win. Both were trying to sacrifice themselves so the other could win. Ray ended up falling behind because he believed that Peter should be the one. Peter saw the good and life in everything, saving Ray on a few occasions, and Ray wanted Peter to continue on.
• Revenge: Once Peter won, he gave his wish: the soldier's caliber. After having seen his friends and other men die, he shot the major. 

My interpretation/allegory: After some thought, it also feels like an allegory for the draft and Vietnam, which is why I assumed it to be around the 60s. This specifically comes from the fact that Ray says that no one really signs up for the walk. They felt like they had to. A lot of men who signed up willingly only did it because they had no choice due to poverty, because soldiers we seen as heroes. We all know that a lot of the men sent to fight, only a few came back. Also the horrible injuries sustained. I also saw the Vietnam parallel with the nasty scene only because of stories my dad relaid to me about the soldiers catching dysentery.

My final thoughts: I don't really like graphic films. I was horrified, my anxiety was through the roof, I cried, I felt sick to my stomach, but I loved the film. I always think the best films are the ones that are able to make you feel so many things, especially throughout the whole thing. I loved that the film had one death after another, but had small moments of calm sprinkled in between. I also loved how accurate the guys joke around with each other, telling each other what they said was stupid as hell and teasing. I loved this film, but I don't think I'd watch it again.