Of Mice and Men is a 1992 American drama film based on John Steinbeck's 1935 novel of the same name. Directed and produced by Gary Sinise, the film features Sinise as George Milton, alongside John Malkovich as Lennie Small, with Casey Siemaszko as Curley, John Terry as Slim, Ray Walston as Candy, Joe Morton as Crooks, and Sherilyn Fenn as Curley's wife.
Horton Foote adapted the story for the movie. The plot centered on George and Lennie who were intellectually disabled, two agricultural workers traveling together and dreaming of one day owning their own land. The film explores the theme of discrimination, loneliness, and the American Dream.
Of Mice and Men took part in the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, where Sinise was nominated for the Palme d'Or award, awarded to best feature film director. After the film debuted in the United States on October 2, 1992, he received positive praise from critics.
Video Of Mice and Men (1992 film)
Plot
During the Great Depression, the astute George Milton (Gary Sinise) was seen after his physically strong but mentally challenged companion, Lennie Small (John Malkovich). Both escaped from their previous work as a worker in Weed, California where Lennie was charged with rape when she touched and grabbed a young woman (Moira Harris) and her red dress, driven by her love of caressing soft things. George and Lennie escape and travel to Soledad, which is near the farm where they work. As he walked, George caught Lennie stroking a dead mouse that he accidentally killed. Despite Lennie's request to keep the rat dead, George forcibly took the mouse and threw it away, which caused Lennie to cry. George tries to explain to Lennie that he does it because the mouse is "not fresh", and if he finds another fresh rat he can stroke it for a while. Lennie, sobbing hysterically, stated that "no other rats".
When they camped that night, Lennie asked George to tell him again about their dreams, because he had been many times, and George reluctantly agreed. George explains how both will someday have their own land, and how Lennie will tend (and keep) their rabbits. George added that if Lennie had to get into trouble, he would have to go back to the brush and wait for him. The next day, the two arrived to work at Tyler Ranch. The farm boss (Noble Willingham) becomes suspicious of Lennie's mental state when Lennie speaks, forgetting to remain silent just as George had instructed him. In order not to be fired, George lies to the Boss, tells him that Lennie is his cousin and that he was kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid. In the flat, George and Lennie were friends with an old man, one-handed, Candy (Ray Walston). However, they do not like the instant of Boss's son, Curley (Casey Siemaszko), who hates the bigger person than him. Lennie then becomes attracted directly to Curley's seductive wife (Sherilyn Fenn), who comes to the bunkhouse to flirt with Lennie and George. George, realizing that Curley's wife would bring trouble to men because of her sexual attraction and seductive constantly, strictly ordered Lennie to stay away and not see her.
While in a storeroom waiting for Crooks (Joe Morton), an intelligent and educated black man who is bitter and isolated for his race, George is discovered by Curley's Wife, who tries to engage in conversation. However, the attempt was disrupted when Curley entered the storeroom and confronted George, who threatened to beat him to the bruises and sacked him if he caught him socializing with his wife again. George was introduced to his work team, Slim (John Terry), team leader, highly respected, and Carlson. When Carlson suggested that they shoot Candy's old dog and ask Slim to give him one of his puppies, Lennie excited and asked George for a puppy. After a hard day's work, George takes pride in Lennie's workload and gets Lennie his puppy. Later, after Carlson killed his dog, Candy offered to join Lennie and George so they could buy the farm. Just as the dream was getting closer to reality, Curley came over and accused Slim of keeping his wife's company when the workers mocked Curley back. Curley spots Lennie laughs accidentally, and he strikes her repeatedly, yelling at her to fight. The others shouted at Curley and encouraged Lennie to fight. Lennie grabbed Curley's hand and crushed it with his iron handle. George is afraid for his work and Lennie at the farm, but Slim gives Curley an ultimatum: Curley tells people that his hand is just trapped in the machine; if Curley tries to get George and Lennie fired, Slim will tell everyone how Curley's hand is completely destroyed, and everyone will laugh at it. Curley, concerned over his reputation, reluctantly agreed to remain silent.
The next day, Lennie and Crooks talk about loneliness, after which Curley's wife again tries to fail to get involved in the conversation, now realizing what really happened to Lennie. After reaching the limit of his patience, the emotionally frustrated wife vowed to leave the ranch forever, running home crying. In the barn that night, Lennie accidentally killed his puppy and was very upset. Curley's wife comes in and tries to talk to her, admits she is lonely and how her dreams of becoming a movie star crumble, revealing the reason she seduced farm hands. After learning of Lennie's love for caressing the soft things, he lets him stroke his hair, but he immediately complains and screams because he's pulling too hard. Lennie tried to silence him but accidentally broke his neck in the process. Realizing he's in trouble, he runs into the brush like George tells him to do. Candy finds her wife dead and tells George, and both realize that their dream will never happen. Curley led the mobs chasing Lennie who intend to punish him. George finds Lennie first and, wanting to keep him from a cruel and painful death at the hands of the masses, calms Lennie by retelling their dreams. When George gets to the part where Lennie can take care of the rabbit, he shoots Lennie behind the head. George then boarded the car carriage, heading south, remembering their old dreams and his memories of Lennie.
Maps Of Mice and Men (1992 film)
Cast
- Gary Sinise as George Milton
- John Malkovich as Lennie Small
- Ray Walston as Candy
- Casey Siemaszko as Curley
- Sherilyn Fenn as Curley's Wife
- Noble Willingham as the Boss
- John Terry as Slim
- Richard Riehle as Carlson
- Joe Morton as Crooks
- Mark Boone Junior as Bus Driver
- Moira Harris as a Girl in a Red Dress
- Alexis Arquette as Whit
Production
The first experience Sinise had with Steinbeck's work came when Sinise attended Highland Park High School. His Drama class goes to Guthrie Theater and watches three dramas in two days, one of which is Of Mice and Men . After seeing the play, he "stood up and applauded" and "tried to scream some sort of confession of my feelings [...] but I was so choked that nothing came out except tears." He praised the drama with "[introducing] me to literature".
Release and acceptance
On April 16, 1992, Gilles Jacob, director of the Cannes Film Festival, announced 27 films competing in the "Official Competition" category, including Of Mice and Men . The film premiered the following month, and is Sinise's second film competing in Cannes, after the 1988 feature of Miles from Home. After seeing the Of Mice and Men , critic Don Marshall noted how the audience gave a standing ovation to his players. Marshall said he was "shocked" that the film did not win an award, although Sinise was nominated for the Palme d'Or, awarded to best award-winning film director.
The film debuted in America on October 2, 1992, and earned $ 5,471,088 out of a total of 398 theaters. Despite what the Los Angeles Daily News described as "a bad box office performance", the film received positive critical acclaim. Critic Roger Ebert gave 3.5/4 star movies, and praised the cast for their attention to detail. Writing for Variety , Todd McCarthy impressed on the design set, and compared the "beautiful, shiny" film with a 1939 studio-produced film. He went on to say that the actor's show was "sterling" and gave positive support to the recipient. Vincent Canby of The New York Times also praised the physical production and supporting cast, but added that the film was "not very interesting", probably because "looking back at Lennie and George with the perspective of time robs them of their urgency. " The Austin Chronicle Steve Davis calls Of Mice and Men " not simple but well made ", and gives 3/5 star movies. MGM released the Of Mice and Men at VHS in 1993. The film was later released as a DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on March 4, 2003. The DVD is featured on a wide screen with English, French and Spanish subtitles , and has the French dubbing option. The film was later released on Blu-ray by Olive Films on January 19, 2016.
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave positive reviews on the film based on a sample of 28 reviews, with an average score of 8/10.
References
External links
- From Rats and Men on IMDb
- From Rats and Men at AllMovie
- From Rats and Men in the TCM Movie Database
- From Rats and Men at Rotten Tomatoes
- Of Mice and Men movie trailer on YouTube
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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