Of Mice and Men

The film “Of Mice and Men” was a fantastic transformation of the Steinbeck novel that has many different intricacies that can only be viewed in a movie. Gary Sinise is the director of the movie and also plays the role of George. This movie was made in 1992, and for a fairly old movie, Sinise adapts this classic novel with great exploration of characters. I feel that the movie is at a much higher level in entertainment than the book it was derived from. Though I believe Steinbeck does an outstanding job in the novel to set the reader’s imagination on many aspects such as the time period, what George and Lennie look like, and how other characters interact with George and Lennie, I found that Sinise does an unbelievable job at visually setting each scene just as Steinbeck meant it to be.

In the movie you can actually see and hear things that you probably would not catch on to in the book. For example there are the facial expressions from the talented actors and actresses. The music soundtrack of “Of Mice and Men” is very well composed. At the very beginning of the movie, a spirited mood was set in the audience when we saw Lennie and George running away from these men who were chasing them. I especially liked how the music is classical, which is very appealing to all age groups and genders. The music was a huge part of the movie; it set the mood for the scene the audience was seeing. The instruments used in the songs were very effective, such as the violin. The setting in the movie was just as it was described in the book.

The time setting of the story takes place in the 1930s, when there is the Great Depression. It seems to take place in the southern part of the United States, because of the increased ethnic tensions we see in the movie. For example there is Crooks, who is isolated from everyone else because of the color of his skin. Also, the clothing worn by the actors was very true to the time frame. The audience can actually feel that they are back in that time period by watching this movie. The clothing worn by Lennie and George showed that they were not well off, as were the majority of the population during the Great Depression. In the movie, the actors were very good. In scenes the audience would get emotional. An example is when Carlson shoots Candy's old dog, and Candy lies down on the bed and tosses and turns in pain. In the movie, I actually felt sympathetic for Curley's wife since she seemed to always be the victim. This is something I had not felt in the book. Also, the very last scene when George shoots Lennie and then he starts to cry.

In many ways the movie is very similar to the book. Right from the beginning of the movie you can see that Lennie has a mental illness, and George is taking care of him like a father. Also, you can tell that George gets impatient with Lennie numerous times and that he gets frustrated very easily. The character's speeches were very strong in language, just like the speeches were in the novel. The characters in the movie are almost exactly like their book counterparts. Lennie is very big and bulky, while George is small with a tanned face. In the movie, Lennie is absolutely crazy about rabbits, if not more than in the book. Throughout the movie we see time and time again how much Lennie cares for rabbits, he says numerous times, "An' I get to tend the rabbits!" Whenever he says that you can see the gleam in his eye. Slim is well respected, and he acts and dresses like he is the best without being a showoff. We get this feeling