# Green Mile, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Scott Renshaw

THE GREEN MILE (Warner Bros.) Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Jeter, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell. Screenplay: Frank Darabont, based on the serial novel by Stephen King. Producers: David Valdes and Frank Darabont. Director: Frank Darabont. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, violence, adult themes) Running Time: 183 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

In a way, you've got to admire Frank Darabont's chutzpah. After pulling off an acclaimed, remarkably assured film-making debut with THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION in 1994, Darabont could have named his next project, at any time he wanted. Instead, he waited five years, then selected as his next project another Stephen King adaptation. Another Stephen King period piece adaptation. Another Stephen King period piece adaptation set in a prison. As if a successful rookie director didn't face enough of a challenge from high expectations, Darabont practically threw audiences and critics a dare: "Go ahead -- say 'It's no SHAWSHANK.'"

His incredibly nervy choice almost works ... almost. Set primarily in 1935, THE GREEN MILE tells the story of Paul Edgecombe (Tom Hanks), a guard on a Louisiana death row cell block with the titular designation. The latest arrival is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a hulk of a man convicted of murdering two little girls found in his arms. Edgecombe is surprised to discover that Coffey is gentle and quiet, but he's even more surprised when Coffey begins exhibiting unique empathetic abilitites. As life on the Mile continues, Edgecombe begins noticing even more unusual things about John Coffey, leading him to suspect there's more to the man than meets the eye.

You're sure to see plenty of gripes about THE GREEN MILE that focus on its three-hour-plus running time. It's a common and understandable complaint in a year when 150+ minute running times are becoming standard in "prestige films." However, the problem with THE GREEN MILE isn't simply that it's long, but the way that it is long. Darabont's meticulous attention to relating every event in the novel borders on fetishistic, including encounters (like the one that permits a reunion between Hanks and GUMP cast-mate Gary Sinise) that serve too little narrative purpose. THE GREEN MILE is never a bore during its three hours; indeed, it consistently keeps you watching. This just isn't a story that builds to anything compelling enough to warrant such epic length. Darabont's adaptation doesn't show enough screenwriting creativity in transferring the story to a cinematic context. Too often, it feels like a methodical transcription.

Darabont does have a way with actors, and that carries THE GREEN MILE a long way. Michael Clarke Duncan is a shy and sympathetic Coffey, his occasional moments of childlike wonder an effective balance against his moments of anguish. There are two wonderfully wicked villains in sadistic, nepotistically-advantaged guard Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) and maniacal inmate "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell). And any film with Bonnie Hunt is doing something right. There is, unfortunately, a hole at the center, and that hole is named Tom Hanks. In THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, the soulfulness of Morgan Freeman's performance grounded the film whenever Darabont got too operatic. That quality is missing from Hanks. Though his character also isn't as complex as Red, his performance at times feels too mannered. I kept imagining David Morse -- who plays Edgecombe's right-hand man "Brutal" Howell -- in the lead role, and suspecting THE GREEN MILE would have been a better film with Morse's dramatic presence. Watching Hanks emoting with a Sothern accent just kept reminding me of Forrest Gump.

With Edgecombe serving as a less-than-engrossing narrator, it's too easy to notice the aforementioned operatic qualities: tearful goodbyes, battles between good and evil, more exploding light bulbs than I've seen since THE NATURAL. There is no denying that THE GREEN MILE is a well-crafted film, and that Coffey becomes an extremely affecting character. It just takes a long time to get there, a long time that could have been shortened in a more efficient screenplay. Darabont is a talented director, and a pretty good writer. He's also earned the right to be less slavishly devoted to his source material. While we wait for his next effort -- and I don't think there are any more Stephen King prison stories sitting around waiting to be made -- we can only applaud him for taking a unique risk. And we can say, with a tinge of regret, "It's no SHAWSHANK."

         On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Coffey breaks:  6.

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