Of Mice and Men (1992 film)

Adaptation

This is probably one of the most faithful book-to-film adaptations I’ve seen in a long time. One of the reasons I chose this one to watch is that I love Gary Sinise in about everything I see him in. And then to find out he directed it?! Shut up and push Play already!

This film’s screenplay was by none other than Horton Foote, Academy Award winning screenwriter of To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mullign, 1962). What more could you ask for when adapting a classic novel into a film?

Well, it’s hard to say actually. One thing I like about film adaptations is seeing how they take the source material and turn it into something uniquely enjoyable. This film took the source material, but I just don’t feel like it made anything unique out of it. I’m not saying they should have added scenes or done some kind of cyberpunk adaptation or anything.

Over all, it just felt like someone took the book, rearranged everything into the format of the script, and that’s what they shot. Speaking of shooting, I though George was a little too quick with the trigger at then end.

For Sinise’s directing, I do give a heartfelt “Bravo!” The cinematography and the composition of shots, I felt, put me in that time of the 1930s. Although this is a fairly modern movie (it’s crazy to think as I write this that the film is over 30 years old), this could have been made in the 1930s for all I know. To be clear, I’m not an historian, so don’t get all high and mighty with me about any historical inaccuracies.

Cast / Characters

Gary Sinise is marvelous as George. Although not what I pictured when reading the book, as soon as I saw him onscreen I knew that was George.

John Malkovich… is a really great actor. However, I was disappointed by his interpretation and portrayal of Lennie. I think seeing a Vincent D’Onofrio or even a Dolph Lundgren would have been more interesting and in line with what I was thinking. Malkovich just didn’t really embody the character for me. It was like I was watching Malkovich play Lennie rather than watching Lennie.

Ray Walston will always be Boothby from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager (I’m a little young for My Favorite Martian). But man oh man was he great as Candy here.

Music

As a musician, I would be remiss not to talk about the music. It was… there. Mark Isham is a wonderful composer. He’s scored such films as Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow; 1991), A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford; 1992), The Accountant (Gavin O’Connor; 2016), and (who can forget) Fire in the Sky (Robert Liebarman; 1993).

The main thing I can say about the score is that, while beautiful, it’s inconsistent. He goes from sweeping, frontier music that belongs in a western, to acoustic guitar that was oddly reminiscent sometimes of a Days of the New instrumental.

Like I said – it’s a beautiful score. But probably not something I’m going to put in my headphones on repeat. For the most part, it did the job.

Book or Movie?

If you’re a high schooler, required to read this and think you should watch the movie instead… you’ll probably get away with it. This is such a straight-forward adaptation that you could watch the movie and probably not miss anything from not reading the book. Except for the experience of reading the book.

While this is a great adaptation, the book wins me over more than the movie. I hate to say it, but it’s Malkovich’s portrayal of Lennie that loses me some while watching this movie. The book only takes a few hours to read, so if you’re going to choose one over the other, do yourself a favor and read the book.

Then watch the movie – it’s definitely worth a watch!