An Assessment of the 1992 Film Of Mice and Men

An Assessment of the 1992 Film Of Mice and Men

In section one of the novel 'Of Mice and Men' written by John

Steinbeck, begins with a description of the pool and its surroundings

in order to familiarize us with the setting, using poetic imagery to

describe the "golden foothill slopes" of the Salinas river valley and

the pool on the bank of which "the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a

lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them". Some rabbits

sit in the sand. "There is a path through the willows and among the

sycamores" leading to the sandy rivers edge. The description conveys

an idyllic peace to the scene which is disturbed as the novels two

main characters emerge from the woods. The rabbits scurry into the

scrubs and a heron flies from the pool before George and Lennie enter

the clearing.

George and Lennie are described as physical opposites, George being

"small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong

features" while Lennie is described as a huge man, shapeless of face,

with large pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders, and he walked

heavily" but despite the difference in physical appearance John

Steinbeck stresses the similarities of dress "Both were dressed in

denim. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket

rolls", this suggests that Lennie maybe trying to copy George as he

looks up to him and wants to be like him, as also imitates George

actions at the river bank.

In the following pages George and Lennie's conversation and behaviour

helps the reader learn that the two are migrant ranch workers, on

their way to one job to another. They are going to work on a ranch in

...

... middle of paper ...

... of the film so

then they would want to watch on to see what's happening. Right from

the start of the movie you can see that Lennie has a mental illness,

and George is taking care of him like a father the same as it is with

the novel. Also, you can tell that George gets impatient with Lennie

numerous times and that he gets frustrated very easily. I thought the

role of George was played very well by Gary Sinise who seems to bring

out the role of George perfectly as he coveys Georges caring side as

well. As for Lennie this role is probably more of a challenge as he is

difficult to convey without sounding cartoonish, John Malkovich didn't

work wonders for the role as he used such a silly voice, though if he

had used a normal way of speaking the audience would probably find it

difficult to see him as mentally handy capped.