"Everyone in the world has a dream he knows can't come off but he spends his life hoping it may. This is at once the sadness, the greatness, and the triumph of our species," novelist John Steinbeck wrote in a letter about the major theme of his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men. This story about itinerant ranch hands is set in California during the Depression.
In Gary Sinise's heart-affecting screen adaptation of Steinbeck's classic, George (Gary Sinese) is a hard-working laborer who has taken responsibility for looking after Lennie (John Malkovich), a man with an intellectual disability. As they move to a new place, they try to forget the trouble caused when Lennie innocently touched a girl's dress.
The back-breaking existence of these two buddies is sustained by their dream of owning their own plot of land. When Candy (Ray Walston), a veteran ranch hand, hears about their scheme, he wants to buy into the plan. Two other dreamers are less fortunate — the lonely wife (Sherilyn Fenn) of the ranch owner's son can't find anyone to pay any attention to her, and Crooks (Joe Morton), a black laborer, laments the fact that he is excluded from the community on account of his color.
Of Mice and Men is an impressive screen interpretation of Steinbeck's novel. Gary Sinise is both tough and tender as George. John Malkovich adds a memorable portrait of Lennie to his repertoire of top drawer performances. Sherilyn Fenn and Ray Walston also shine.
Although this film is set during the Depression, it has great relevance to the contemporary scene. It gathers in its embrace all those whose dreams of a better life have been shattered by unemployment, low wages, and fears about an even worse future. As poet Langston Hughes understood, such concerns are spiritual matters. He observed wisely, "If dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly."