Review: Of Mice and Men

A depression-era drama about George (Gary Sinise) and Lennie (John Malkovich), his hulking, intellectually disabled companion. Lennie’s not smart, but he’s a strong guy and a solid labourer, so the duo are able to make an OK living. Unfortunately, Lennie has a history of loving things just a little too much. When he sees a cute bunny rabbit or a puppy, he just has to love and squeeze it, not knowing his own strength. And that holds true for larger creatures…like women. The story proper picks up with George and Lennie working on a farm for stern employer Noble Willingham, whose son Curley (Casey Siemaszko) is an insecure bully boy who takes an instant disliking to Lennie due to his difference. Curley also can’t stand to see his wife (Sherilyn Fenn) fraternise with any man. Ray Walston, John Terry, Richard Riehle, and Alexis Arquette play fellow workers. Joe Morton (as the film’s least developed character) plays an African-American employee on the farm.

 

I don’t know if the John Steinbeck novel just isn’t that great, or hasn’t aged well, or if the treatment by veteran screenwriter Horton Foote (“To Kill a Mockingbird”- a very good adaptation of an even better book, and 1983’s “Tender Mercies”) isn’t very good. All I do know is that this 1992 film from director-star Gary Sinise is a bit dull, and it sure ain’t no “Grapes of Wrath” (The hilarious, enduring “Looney Tunes” parody doesn’t help, either).

 

John Malkovich is truly excellent as Lennie, and if there’s a reason to see this film it’s to see the actor showing his versatility. Sherilyn Fenn too, is pitch-perfect casting, even if the film’s PG rating robs her character of a little bit of raunchiness that you sense it really requires. She might just be too damn hot for the old-fashioned film to handle, but you’ll remember her at least.

 

Much, much less effective is a wholly miscast Casey Siemaszko. Siemaszko was great as Charlie in “Young Guns”, but cast as a bully boy here he comes off as phony and instantly one-dimensional. He’s tragically unthreatening and frankly comical. The late Ray Walston is a delight as always, though. As for Sinise, he gives himself the by far least interesting character to play, and plays it as well as anyone probably could I suppose. The scenery is excellent, as is the Mark Isham (“The Hitcher”, “Point Break”, “The Cooler”) score.

 

If the film were made in the 40s or early 50s, it’d feel a lot more special. It’s a bit dull, talky, and looking at it in 2016, the treatment of the intellectually disabled is extremely crude and outdated. Sinise obviously saw some merit here, but I’m struggling to get a sense of it in this treatment. Malkovich tries very hard and is the best thing here, but I just don’t know if this story has a place in today’s society.

 

Rating: C+