Nothing Is Ever Black and White

What would you be willing to do to relieve your best friend under the most formidable of circumstances? The character of George Milton in Of Mice and Men, directed by Gary Sinise, had to ask himself this exact question when his mentally challenged best friend did yet another "bad" thing. Would you be able to shoot your own "dog" if you had to? Set in the 1930's during The Depression in Southern California, these two friends suffer through many trials and tribulations, leading compassionate George to make the most difficult decision a man should ever have to. Lennie Small, played by the accomplished John Malkovich, relied very much on the character of George to keep him out of trouble. Often George was left to pick up the pieces.

There were many elements of this film that were well done in relation to the book written by John Steinbeck. For example, the time frame was very well illistrated in this film. The roads were dusty, the men seemed to articulate in their lines, their clothes, their expressions exactly how is was to live in the depression. Men were often left lonely during this time, working to live and living to work instead of experienceing life. George and Lennie were a contridiction to this sterotype because they had eachother and they had dreams for a better future living off of the
"fatta the land". I admire Sinise's adaptation of Steinbeck's novella because he tried to match character well with actor.

However true this may be, the of over-acting from the part of Lennie left an abhorrent taste in the back of the mouth. It was hard to take this character seriously when his voice sounded that of a 5 year old child. Although, the point of sympithizing with this "big friendly giant" was well achieved, Lennie was not how many people would imagine him after reading the book. This acting complication left the viewer trying more to get over the character of Lennie than appreciating the film for what it really was; a heart warming adventure of two men trying to make it in the world.

The character of Curley's wife was another scenario that failed to hit the mark on the character displayed in the novella. Throughout the movie, Curley's wife was more sensative and depicted as far less of a villian than in the classic novel. She even ran away crying at a time that made her appear weak and vulnarable in a much more direct way. In the film Curley's wife did not exhibit the racist and negative side that she did in the novel and this simple fact left the viewer having far more sympathy for her her character than she deserved.

The dust, the hard work, the simplistic friendship are all elements of this film that made it enjoyable to watch. However, there were some fundamentals that made the viewer turned off of this film. If asked to rate it, a 7/10 seems to be a fitting number for the film. The heart warming story and difficult decisions that were presented made this film exciting. Sinise's direction is well appreciated but has some lack luster elements.