# Green Mile, The (1999)

### reviewed by
John Carroll

THE GREEN MILE, starring Tom Hanks, Doug Hutchison, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Patricia Clarkson, Graham Greene, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dabbs Greer and Harry Dean Stanton. Directed by Frank Darabont. 1999.

    Reviewed by John Carroll

After witnessing a film like The Shawshank Redemption, you have to wonder about two things: first, why the heck does Stephen King write a lot of horror junk when he has such tremendous ability to write about other subjects, like The Shawshank Redemption, and second, when are Darabont and King gonna team up again? Well, to anyone looking for these answers, take a walk down The Green Mile, the latest collaborative prison-setting effort from the Darabont-King team.

The Green Mile is a prison drama based on Stephen King's six-part serial novel. As it goes with most book adaptations, the book is indeed better. However, Darabont does such an immense job converting the book to the silver screen, he stays faithful to King's novel while giving it an entertaining aspect on the big screen. While the original book focused on the whole aspect of prison life and the interaction between the inmates and the guards, the movie tries to follow that same footing, but also divulges deeper into the relationship between guard Paul Edgecomb and John Coffey, an immense man convicted of raping and murdering two little girls.

Tom Hanks stars in the film, and plays the role solidly. His performance is not like the Oscar-nominated roles of the past, but considering the immense talent of this ensamble, he does not need to be. Hanks plays the younger Edgecomb, while Dabbs Greer plays the older Edgecomb. The older Edgecomb bookends the film, reflecting on the year of 1935, and as he describes it, the year of his terrible urinary infection and also the year of John Coffey. While this bookending may seem pretty pretentious, considering two of the most popular films of the 90s, Saving Private Ryan and Titanic, used this method, The Green Mile, written by Stephen King, follows this method. And considering The Green Mile was brainstormed and written before Titanic and Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile just sticks to the novel, and is not trying to follow the rest of the pack.

With Tom Hanks in the film, The Green Mile automatically was tagged as the film to beat for the Academy Awards. And while Hanks's performance may not be above and beyond this year's competition, The Green Mile will definitely be a contender this March, if justice is served. Ironically though, Hanks does not carry The Green Mile towards near-perfection. In fact, no member of the cast truly lead the film, it was definitely an ensemble performance, and a major success at that.

The ensemble definitely leads this film, but there are a few breakout performances that are worthy of note. First of all, Doug Hutchison is yet another young actor who should be garnering more leading roles as the Millenium approaches. His performance as the evil and cowardly Percy Wetmore is impeccable, and undoubtedly the best of the film. He contributes perfectly to the group, while still making a name of himself. His Percy is dead on with the character of King's novel. Secondly, Michael Duncan, whose only previous major roles came in Armageddon and A Night at the Roxbury, breaks out of his shell as the enormous, yet spiritually powerful, John Coffey. Be sure to note his initials, because Darabont makes many religious references to Coffey's powers, which both support and detract from The Green Mile. And finally, the impeccable Mr. Jingles. Heavy advertising has taken place in the past month for Stuart Little, but if you are looking for real mousey entertainment, The Green Mile's mascot, Mr. Jingles, is the mouse to see this winter.

The rest of the ensemble blends in with the rest, and until viewing the credits, you never notice how many major roles are displayed in The Green Mile. Each character, from Tom Hanks's Paul Edgecomb to Gary Sinise's defense attorney who spends all of three minutes on screen, play a tremendous role towards advancing The Green Mile to its ultimate destination.

Is there anything wrong with The Green Mile? Yes, as minor as they may be, there are one or two minor flaws, but nothing major. The first thing that comes to everyone's mind is the film's running time, but all things considered, The Green Mile stays entertaining for pretty much all of its three hours. When trash like The Haunting has problems even filling up two hours, The Green Mile is a fresh of breath air as its character interaction and unique entertainment and sentiment keep everyone interested for the three hour marathon.

Now onto the flaws. I, for one, have read the book. While some may see that as a disadvantage, because it would prevent me from reviewing the film fairly, it is actually an extreme advantage in the case of The Green Mile. While the film is very good, when it ventures into John Coffey's supernatural powers, a lot of viewers who have not read the novel will be left in the dark. In the end, mostof the loose ends of the fiml are tied together, but it is fairly vague to some people what is going on, which may lead to their dismissing Coffey's acts as pure pretentiousness. However, Darabont tries his best, and The Green Mile does eventually make sense, just be sure to pay attention.

Those flaws may be nitpicking, but in the end, that is all The Green Mile actualls fails at doing. It has true sentiment and despite its few lapses into unbelievability, The Green Mile keeps you entertained for the full three hours with an unbelievable ensemble cast and a wonderful plot. As Paul Edgecomb says, the Green Mile can be "oh so long," but in the eyes of this critic, it is also 'oh so beautiful.'

        Final Verdict: A

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