I have a long history with the novel that this film is
based on and it is a book that I really love. However, I had not watched the
movie version until very recently. It seems strange for me not to have seen it
by now, as I wasn’t avoiding it. It just became one of those movies on my list
of films that I will eventually get to. Now it is on Netflix I finally can
check it off my list.
The book, with the same title, was written by John
Steinbeck and published in 1937. My grandparents have gave me a beautiful
collection of classic novels when I was 13 – 14 over Christmases and Birthday’s
( a collection that is still prized to me and sits happily on my shelf). One of
the first books I read from that collection was Of Mice and Men. The book was
so beautifully written and something I enjoyed reading so much I read it in one
sitting. I have read it many times since then and always read through it very
quickly. The dialect leaps off the page and the characters feel real and alive.
When I was a tutor for a short period of time I got to
discuss Of Mice and Men with one of my pupils. I found it interesting
discussing the time period and each of the characters, specifically Curly, his
wife and George. The film follows the same story of the book, showing loyal
friends George and Lenny in the Depression era and find jobs on a ranch, which
they have been searching for. I have always been slightly uncomfortable with
elements of the story such as the character of Lenny, who was kicked in the
head as a child and is now mentally challenged.
He is portrayed as a simpleton and child-like yet George loves him like
a brother, and his affection for him redeems a lot of the troubling portrayal
of disabled people. One also has to remember the time it was written and the
lack of understanding there was. However the portrayal by John Malkovich seems
to make these problems surface all the more in this adaptation with his gawping
and slurred speech. Despite our knowledge growing the portrayal of Lenny seems
as troubling as in the novel, if not
more so given the era this was made. This could be that this film seems more
like a direct interpretation of the book
rather bringing anything new or providing any commentary on the original
source material.
The film does depict the pain of the characters such as
Candy, who really gives the story a weight with a heartbreaking performance
from Ray Walstone. It is easy to empathise with the dreams of a golden future
that George, Lenny and Candy all are aching to achieve. Their hopes still ring
true, especially in this harsh economic environment. Their dreams are even more
heartbreaking when you consider the time period this was set in. It was a time
where a home and a happy healthy lifestyle with land of their own was as wild
as an average person’s dreams of winning millions on the lottery today, when so many had lost their homes and jobs
during the Depression.
Even though this film doesn’t bring anything new to the
material there is solid characters, such as George, brilliantly played in a
grounding performance by director Greg Sinsie. It also looks stunning with
beautiful cinematography that really brings to life the life on the ranch that
so many of the Depression era would recognise as their workplace.
