It's taken me a long time to get round to watching The Green Mile. I don't know how many times I've read great reviews about it on Ciao and Dooyoo and vowed to see it myself someday. I'm not keen on Stephen King or Tom Hanks, so maybe that was partly why I didn't watch it sooner.
Then I saw the DVD on sale cheap about four months ago and bought it. Last night, I finally watched The Green Mile. Wow! What an amazing film.
If you haven't seen it yet, don't wait as long as I did.
THE GREEN MILE - A PLOT REVIEW
The film is set in an American prison in the 1930s. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is in charge of the prisoners on Death Row in the state of Louisiana, along with his team of fellow prison guards. Their duty is to look after the prisoners and ultimately, to carry out the death sentence in the electric chair.
A convicted murderer called John Coffey arrives one day. Despite being charged of a brutal rape and murder of two young girls, Coffey does not come across as a violent or evil man. He is seven feet tall and has huge muscular arms, yet he is afraid of the dark and asks Edgecomb if there will be a light kept on all night.
The other prisoners (of which there are only a few) include a French man called Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter). He befriends an adorable little mouse that gets into the jail and they form a bond, with Delacroix teaching the now named Mr. Jangles to play 'fetch'
with cotton reels and sleep in a cigar box.
The prison officers are generally a kind and fair bunch, under the excellent leadership of Edgecomb. They work very well as a team and treat the prisoners with compassion and understanding.
Unfortunately, there is also Percy Wetmore (played by Doug Hutchison). He seems to take a perverse pleasure in taunting and tormenting the inmates, knowing his family connections mean he can't lose his job, whatever he says or does. The other staff members hate him and wish he would change jobs, as he keeps mentioning he might prefer to work in the local mental hospital instead. But while he's working in the prison, he can continue to inflict plenty of psychological damage on the prisoners - apparently without consequence.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE FILM
I had an idea of what the film was about, from all the great things I had heard about it. It was all of those things - and more. It was powerful, moving, emotional - the sort of film that gets into your mind and will never leave.
The storyline is intriguing and involving and the characters hook you straight away. While never quite forgetting it was Tom Hanks on screen, the cast were entirely believable and I didn't even recognise some of the actors (Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Harry Dean Stanton) as I was so much into the magic of the movie.
There are many amazing portrayals in the film. While obviously admiring Michael Clarke Duncan's breathtaking performance as John Coffey, there are others who stand out too. David Morse is excellent as the prison officer Brutus 'Brutal' Howell and Sam Rockwell gives an inspired performance as crazy prisoner 'Wild Bill' Wharton. Michael Jeter is similarly unforgettable as the gentle and nervous Delacroix.
It was only towards the end of the film, when I realised how much I HATED Percy, that it hit me just what an amazing actor Doug Hutchison is, in this role. The things his character says and does literally left me gasping, with my mouth open. I felt huge waves of anger over the injustice of it and almost felt like shouting at the screen. I became so involved in the story and the characters, that I was feeling genuine hate for Percy!
My emotions were dragged through the mill with the film and I spent the last twenty minutes or so in floods of tears! To be honest, I think I did well managing the first couple of hours without needing the Kleenex! I felt so much during these 188 minutes (which went by pretty quickly too) - awe and wonder, shock, frustration, love, affection, admiration, repulsion and pure hatred. It's amazing how powerful films can be.
There are many themes in the film, most of which can be left to your own interpretation. Without wishing to give too much away, if you believe in God or angels, you might see this film differently to those of us who don't. Either way, it won't detract from your enjoyment; it will just give it a slightly different tint.
Racism is there too. I think I'm right in recalling that John Coffey is the only black character in the whole film. The fact that those he is accused of murdering are too blonde-haired white girls is relevant here, of course. When he is found holding their dead bodies, the local (white) folk automatically assume he is responsible for the crime.
Another theme of the film has to be the rights and wrongs of the Death Penalty. I have always been against this and it is one of my strongest held beliefs. I think even the staunchest supporter of this brutal act would find themselves questioning their beliefs, after seeing this film.
You see, The Green Mile doesn't preach. It doesn't have flag-waving sing-out-loud scenes, where characters you love discuss how evil the Death Penalty is. That would be too cheap and crass. The Green Mile lets you watch how evil and how wrong it can be to kill someone and to punish them this way. This makes it one of the most effective films I have ever seen.
It is a realistic film, despite some 'other-worldly' elements which arise. (They were unexpected, but definitely worked, even within the confines of the very believable prison setting.) There are many violent scenes, although the attack on the two young girls is only partly shown and in a very tasteful way, not an exploitative one. You do witness executions on the electric chair though, in horrific and graphic detail, which are disturbing - but they are meant to be.
I remember crying when Tim Roth's character died in Murder in the Heartland, but The Green Mile seemed to upset me even more. While Roth's character died towards the end of the film, The Green Mile throws in executions - and rehearsals! - throughout. This seems to emphasise that they are routine, an expected part of prison life there. This made it all especially shocking in my opinion.
I can't recommend this film highly enough. I have had an awful week and The Green Mile transported me away from my own life for a while. Sat on my bed, in the dark, I was carried off to the past, to a country I have never visited and given a place of honour to watch proceedings. I feel very lucky to have been able to do that.
INFORMATION
The Green Mile was made in 1999 and is rated an 18 in the UK - and quite rightly! (IMDb states it is only rated a 12 in France and Germany!). It is a long film at 188 minutes, although the time goes by fast.
The DVD I own is available from Amazon for £4.97, but you can get a two-disc Special Edition version for £10.98, which features interviews, a commentary and featurettes. (I'm tempted to buy this.) The film was based on the Stephen King book, which is currently £5.59 on Amazon.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
"The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of ... more
films.The Green Mileis Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison dramaThe Shawshank Redemptionwas the first) and is a very faithful adaptation of Kin...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
"The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of ... more
films.The Green Mileis Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison dramaThe Shawshank Redemptionwas the first) and is a very faithful adaptation of Kin...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is a slightly cynical veteran prison guard on death row in the ... more
1930's. Hi faith, and sanity, deteriorated by watching men live and die, Edgecomb is about to have a complete turn around in attitude. Enter John Coffey (Oscar nom...
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Apr 14th, 2007
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