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The Green Mile Movie Review - DVD - Buy Movies - Rent Movies

The Green Mile is a prison drama directed by Frank Darabont based on a novel by Stephen King. This duo were also the creative talent behind the Shawshank Redemption which provided more than enough up-front credibility to whet my appetite.

Back in 1935, in a prison in Louisiana death row is known as "The Green Mile" because of the faded lime colour linoleum floor, Michael Clarke Duncan portrays John Coffey, a simpleton and gentle giant falsely accused of murdering two girls. Tom Hanks plays Paul Edgecomb, his prison warder, in this parable of good versus evil.

The Green Mile manages to combine the enchanting qualities of the Wizard of Oz with the brutal directness of Saving Private Ryan and carefully pushes all the right buttons to enable us to believe prison warders are wonderful people and mice really enjoy performing circus tricks in the company of humans.

As the plot unfolded I was captivated and only realised the running time was over three hours during the final (pointless) scene after which I was left pondering how I felt about the death penalty and suicide.

This movie doesn't lean on a hip sound track or a big special effects budget and apart from a plethora of exploding light bulbs the drama unfolds in your head, which is probably what makes the movie such a successful adaptation of the novel.

Sitting here in my directors armchair there are a few things I'd have done differently. I'd cut the final scene and subplot involving Mr Jingles the performing mouse and add a teensy bit more character detail to the bad guys, especially the deliciously warped prison guard, Percy Wetmore, played by Doug Hutchison.

With superb photography, near perfect casting and acting the film deserved its share of Oscar nominations. The execution scenes are explicit and not suitable for family viewing. Grown-ups should watch in pairs with a box of tissues handy.

Joe Connor

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The Green Mile (2000)

Filmography links courtesy of The Internet Movie Database

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