Of Mice and Men (1992) Movie Review

I just recently finished watching the most recent ‘Of Mice and Men’ movie in my English lessons and all I can say is ‘meh’.

Most of the movie was pretty boring except perhaps for Lennie’s death scene. (This scene was actually pretty intense.) The movie goes completely the wrong way with the characters. The audience should like Lennie, however, John Malkovich decide to make Lennie an annoying mix between a two-year-old and a fifty-year-old. I honestly wished that George had shot Lennie in the first scene. When George did eventually kill Lennie, he seemed rather sad. This contradicts not only what George says but also what he shows. The only time he is happy in the movie is when he is away from Lennie. Gary Sinise even seemed to make George the biggest annoyance America had ever seen I’m surprised Lennie didn’t just murder him with his bare hands. One good part of the characterisation was Candy who felt cynical yet desperate to get off the ranch.

Adding to the odd characterisation was the tension and pacing. Most of the scenes in the movie felt predicatble and sometimes completely unnecessary. (Crooks’ scene is completely pointless). Slim, one of the most important characters in the book was in perhaps 3-4 scenes. In fact, in the book, he is described as ‘god-like’ whereas in the movie he feels like a pushover.

In my opinion the most important part of any movie based off of pre-existing source material, is that it stays true to this source material. Some of the scenes in the movie are nowhere to be found in the book, because these scenes don’t actually exist outside of Gary Sinise’s random inventions.

This movie may have some confusing scenes, plot holes and characterisation, however, it still is partially enjoyable to watch when all the awkward scenes have passed. I give ‘Of Mice and Men’ (1992) a 4.5/10 – Sub-Par