The Green Mile



Starring Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Sam Rockwell, Barrie Pepper, Doug Hutchison, Dabbs Greer, Mr. Jingles, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Sinese. Written and Directed by Frank Darabont.

Paul Edgecomb (Greer) is very old and living in a nursing home in the southern U.S. One night he's watching Top Hat on TV, and he starts to cry. A female friend takes him aside to ask him why, and Paul flashes back to the depression when he (Hanks) was a guard on death row of a rundown prison. With his friend Brutus (Morse), his creed is to treat the men decently so as to keep them calm before having to walk down the green floor they call "The Green Mile", and sit in Old Sparky. One day a huge black man John Coffey (Duncan) arrives, convicted of the brutal rape and murder of two young sisters, saying when he was captured with the girls in his arms "I tried to take it back, but I couldn't". But the guards find he's childlike and scared of the dark, and Paul wonders if this guy could really be a murderer.

He also has the ability to heal, eliminating Paul's painful urinary infection, and helping a little mouse Mr. Jingles that cruel guard Percy (Hutchison) squished after he got away from a gentle inmate (Jeter) close to his execution day. During this time, a psychotic killer named Wild Bill (Rockwell) arrives, and begins to torment guards and prisoners alike. As the guards' belief in Coffey's innocence grows, will they be able to save him from the chair?

Reminiscent of Oscar winner Forrest Gump, The Green Mile features a simple but decent man of exceptional kindness who does miraculous things. John Coffey is a huge but gentle man who has an unusual gift for healing. And like Gump, the film often utilizes hokey gimmicks that don't always serve it well. When Coffey heals someone, the bad germs are drawn into him, and then they spew out of his mouth into the air like little black moths. The object or person being healed often glows with a bright light, just like ET. Except these people are not supposed to be aliens. The source of Coffey's healing power is never really explained, whether he's an angel, a man sent by God, or a freak of nature. Also like Gump, and unlike Darabont's superior Shawshank Redemption, the film rarely misses an opportunity to trowel on the sentiment. A little mouse, which the gentler inmates and guards adopt, gets more screen time than several of the characters, and while he nicely serves as a way of introducing comedy to soften the somber dramatic portions, he also is used to tug on the heart strings more than once. As is the illness of prison warden's (Cromwell) wife, and a particularly gruesome execution of a beloved inmate (second of three in the film). Most of the final hour of the film leads to the heroic execution of the innocent Coffey, and with the all the guards crying their eyes out, the film dare's you to keep a lump out of your throat. The characters are drawn in black and white, with few shades of grey. Jeter and Greene are on death row for murder, but they are illustrated as meek and harmless. Wild Bill is the complete contrast, without a shred of decency or humanity. The prison guards are handled the same, all being decent men who treat their prisoners with respect, except Hutchison, who is a cruel, snivelling bully, with no redeeming features. Racism towards Coffey by anybody (except Wild Bill) is entirely absent, even when they at first believe he raped and killed two young girls. In the 1930's south, that's pretty unlikely.

This is not to say The Green Mile does not have it's considerable strengths. While scenes are paced slowly, and plenty of time is spent in closeups (especially of Hanks) and quiet conversation, the 3 hours of screen time moves along fairly well, although some trimming would have helped. It is well directed, and the dramatic and comedic moments are nicely balanced. The single greatest strength of the film is the excellent performances delivered by a very strong cast. Hanks is as good as ever, delivering a nuanced, earnest portrayal of a man feeling guilty for having to kill someone he believes is innocent. Rockwell as the psychotic Wild Bill brings jolts of needed energy into the film, stealing many of the scenes he's in. Duncan, who usually plays menacing tough guys, beautifully brings a gentleness and decency to the tortured John Coffey. Harry Dean Stanton brings needed black humour as the cynical janitor who stands in when the guards practice the execution the day before it is to occur. Morse, Cromwell and Hunt are all assets. The Green Mile is a decent film that is lessened by its attempts to be a crowd pleasing experience and an opportunity for a good cry, but is still worth seeing.




If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail



Press Here To Go To The Review List Page