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Of Mice And Men (1992)
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Running Time: 110 minutes
Starring John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Casey Siemaszko,
Sherilyn Fenn
Screenplay by Horton Foote
Based on the novel by John Steinbeck
Directed by Gary Sinise
Studio: MGM
Retail Price: $14.98
Features: Theatrical Trailer
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Stereo
Surround, French Stereo Surround, Spanish Mono, English
Subtitles, French Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, English
Closed Captions, Scene Selections (16 Scenes)
Released: November 6th, 2001
George and Lennie are two best friends who drift across
the California countryside during the depression era of the
United States. The two want a nice, easy going life and have
dreams they kept dreaming. While Lennie's mental problems
make for some problems of the duo. They are soon hired at
Tyler Ranch, where they are thankful for the work. However,
their friendship hits a crossroad when the owner of Tyler
Ranch's son, Curley, has problems with his wife. When Lennie
reaches out to her, it's up to George to realize what's
going around him, making for a tragic end to a beautifully
woven story.
Does that sound familiar? Of course it does. It's the
plot to the classic book, "Of Mice and Men" which Gary
Sinise brought to the silver screen (again) way back in
October 1992. In my opinion, it's one of the finest literary
adaptions ever to be brought to film. Adapting novels can be
rather tricky as we all know. An incredibly amount fail,
while so few stay true and bring the same wonderment as
their book counterparts. It's even rarer to make it better
than the actual original source material.
Yet what makes this such a good literary adaption? I
think we have to thank the screenwriter and the director.
Oscar® winner Horton Foote, who adapted another great
book, "To Kill A Mockingbird" and wrote "Tender Mercies,"
outputs another fine script here. He stays incredibly true
to the original Steinbeck novel. His dialogue and writing
capture the themes, the characters and the lowly times
rather perfectly.
Gary Sinise, who is a well known actor and a great one in
my opinion, directs for a second time around with this
adaption and also gets in front of the screen too. We can
clearly see making this movie was a true joy and passion for
him. While it clocks in a little under two hours, he truly
gets the feel for the book and how so many of us have
pictured it. Sinise has a great cast (more on that in a bit)
and sets the pacing right. Setting up great shots and good
flow, he hits it so right giving off such a great feel that
almost feels like you're reading the book.
The acting is phenomenal. The cast pulls everything off
gracefully. Sinise, as mentioned, also stars and gives one
of his best performances as George. He gets the character's
mentality and conflict down pat. This is one strong and fine
performance. Supporting performances from Joe Morton, Casey
Siemaszko and Sherilyn Fenn are also great. But I think John
Malkovich steals the show as Lennie. The mannerisms, the
voice... it's all there and just as I had imagined it.
Malkovich also gives one of his best.
Rounding it all out is a fine score from Mark Isham and
wonderful photography courtesy of Kenneth MacMillan. "Of
Mice And Men" is one of Gary Sinise's crowning achievements
of his career. If you like a good story or liked the book,
this is a must see. Sadly, the movie was ignored during its
original release and was snubbed for some major awards. It's
really one fine picture.
Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, "Of Mice And
Men" does look pretty good. Yes it has the occasional
scratch and blemish, but nothing that really gets in the way
of anything. There is also some slight shimmering now and
then too. The colors and fleshtones are well saturated,
giving off a thoughtful and natural look, especially with
the glorious exterior shots. Kenneth MacMillan's photography
never looked better, giving off an illustrious, storybook
quality that this transfer captures very nicely. Black
levels are solid and detail is really good. Interior shots
give off a nice, classic feel. This transfer isn't perfect,
but it is pretty nice and fits the film quite well in my
opinion.
Nothing too special here, but the sound here is fine and
does the movie justice. The English Stereo Surround track
has very good ambience to it. Dialogue is clear and easy to
hear and sounds crisp throughout. Since this movie is
dialogue driven, I think it would make only for a decent 5.1
mix. Mark Isham's score sounds pretty splendous too despite
the range limits. Other sounds are fine too. A better than
average two channel mix. Also included is a French stereo
surround mix and a Spanish mono track.
The nicely done Theatrical Trailer in anamorphic
widescreen. I would have liked to see a commentary from
Sinise as far as his directing duties go or some kind of
featurette about Steinbeck.
I personally think this version of "Of Mice And Men" is
one of the best literary adaptions to ever grace the silver
screen. While I wish there were more extras, the DVD has a
good presentation and a nice price. If you've never seen it,
you owe yourself to check out Gary Sinise's wonderful
sophomoric directorial effort.
 (4.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
 (3.5/5)
 (.5/5)
(3.5/5, NOT an average)
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