The novel "Of Mice and Men" written by John Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) is a fairly short book, about a tale of friendship, dreams, and violence. All set place in Steinbeck's childhood home near the Salinas River of California, with the two main characters George Milton and Lennie Small. The two are as different as can be: George is thin/small guy and quick of mind while Lennie is an enormous man with the mind of a little child. But yet together, they are after all family.
As the novel opens, George and Lennie are once again on their way to work as hired ranch hands. The status quo for tramps is people who travel for work and have no future beyond working for someone else every month. But George and Lennie are working to reach their ultimate goal. They have a dream of owning a few acres, having a home to call their own, and being the masters of their own fate. For Lennie, his childish mind delights at the prospect of tending rabbits and stroking their fur. For now, the six hundred dollars needed to attain their dream seems years away. But, at the ranch they meet Candy, an old man, who adds 350 bucks when he joins them in planning to purchase the land and suddenly the dream is within reach...
Thats kind of so far I've gotten in the novel, and I have to admit its getting really exciting. But its one little thing which has helped me alot along the way, by understanding and interpreting the charachters . For like a week ago, I was looking around for my The Wire DVD, and i actually came across "Of Mice and Men". Turns out that mom rechived it as a gift for christmas. At that point, i didn't enjoy the book at all, I found it very hard to read and taught the writer focused way to much about describing everything he came across. So, i decided to watch the movie, cause' i enjoy watching movies way much more than reading. So i spendt that night watching the movie, starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovic.
When I read the book Of Mice and of Men, I found it difficult to be drawn into the characters. It's not that I don't understand the historical context. I just didn't find George & Lenny believable. The tremendous performances of Malkovich & Sinese solved this for me. They were utterly believable and both did marvelous jobs interpreting their characters.
Clearly, Gary Sinese did a great job with the direction. In addition to making the characters believable, he was able to play the movie out with a very deliberate pace. Like a car wreck that takes place in slow motion, the movie proceeds at a snail's pace through the few days from George & Lenny's arrival until the finale. The cinematography is visually enchanting, and reinforced the sense of the importance of things other than wealth - natural beauty, good friends, a hard day's work well done.
If you are looking for overblown sex and violence, for spectacular special effects, or for unbelievable demonstrations raw physical strength, move on. This movie will not interest you in the slightest. However, if you are looking for a story of true love and true courage, if you are looking for a movie whose beauty stems from a raw sense of humanity, then find yourself a quiet place, where you won't be interrupted and watch this. You won't be let down.
