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The Green Mile
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Plot
John Coffery (Duncan) appears on death row every inch the murderer. But his huge presence is misleading as he proves himself not only a sensitive soul, but a man imbued by the power of God. When Coffery performs miraculous acts of healing, Edgecomb (Hanks) begins to beleive he is innocent. But is that enough to prevent Coffery from "Old Sparky" the electric chair?
Review
Straight up, Frank Darabont is a "great" in the making. The story-is-God dedication that transformed The Shawshank Redemption into a modern classic is much in evidence in this lavish, confident fantasy drama, but he may be hamstringing himself with his dogged devotion to pop-horror guru Stephen King's prison-inspired output. The Green Mile impresses, shines, awes, jabs the heart at moments, but it is no Shawshank. King wrote the book as an experiment in serialised fiction - six even parts each cliffhangered to the next - and at a bot-busting three-plus hours, the movie feels like watching a whole mini-series in one sitting. There's certainly a lot of great stuff here. But be warned, youll need stamina.
Directing, Darabont was reputedly infuriatingly meticulous, every scene finessed with a Kubrick-esque repetition of takes in search of perfection. It has paid off. This slowburn 30s-set tale of a prison Death Row (the corridor, here lime green, is known as the mile) shaken by the arrival of a dim-witted giant (Clarke Duncan) accused of slaughtering two baby girls, is a paragon to expert detail.
The performances are subtle, the script (by Darabont) faithful to King's prose, the style elegant and poised and the big moments suitably grandiose. The crux of the matter is that the gentle seven-footer John Coffey has the miraculous, quasi-Holy power to heal. And heal he does, from narrator and Row boss Paul Edgecomb's (Hanks) graphic urinary infection, to pet mouse Mr. Jingles, squashed by the Rows bullyboy new recruit Percy Wetmore (Hutchison). All of which, combined with Coffey's ethereal view of what separates the good and bad, convinces the rattled Edgecomb that he must be innocent.
Over the epic running time the film inches its way through a complex soap opera of events on the Row, punctuated by three pivotal and grisly executions via "Old Sparky", the electric chair. And, a la Saving Private Ryan, the story is told care of a mysterious flashback framework. All of which works brilliantly. Yet, when denouements unravel and Coffey works his magic - marked by a freaky spewing of tiny black insects into the air - it is all far less staggering than the build up signals. In the main this is down to the sheer length - and so much of it superfluous - that patience is exhausted and drama dampened. There is also a lot less going on here than Darabont reckons, ostensibly boiling down to a simple take on the evil-that-men-do.
Polished it is, profound it ain't. A big, tasty meal that lacks the nourishment of Shawshank.It is harsh, though, to judge solely against such a startling debut and The Green Mile is about as accomplished a piece of storytelling as you'll come by. Morse, Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt as Edgecomb's wife and, especially, Hutchison weave their own acting magic. Hanks everyman routine may have become so ingrained it virtually doesn't register, but you can't imagine the movie without him. And Darabont, the real star, is a director in a classic-tradition. Give him a story and he delivers a real movie. Time, though, to ditch King.
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| Your Reviews |
Average user rating for The Green Mile |
| True to the Story | |
| What I love about Stephen King is that he makes the fantastical seem very real. Sometimes the stories don't get the treatments they deserve when transferred to film. That being said, Darabont really nailed this story on film. This movie tells the story just like I saw it in my head as I was reading it. I never doubted the sincerity of the actors. One of my all time favorites. ... More | |
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Posted by jmmgausa at 06:21, 07 January 2013 | Report This Post | |
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| One Hell of a film! | |
| The Green Mile is a staggering and magical film. Tom Hanks and John Coffey give us a gripping and emotional performance throughout. The Green Mile is set in death row in the 1930s. Tom Hanks plays Paul Edgecomb, a prison guard who's character changes from a "cynical veteran guard", to a sympathetic figure. Not only does it show us one of Tom Hanks' greatest performances, also, a movie masterpiece, based on the Stephen King novel. By the way, well done Tom! ... More | |
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Posted by TheBohemianBean at 18:24, 28 October 2012 | Report This Post | |
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| Green mile | |
| Can't forget it. ... More | |
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Posted by antosh25 at 11:22, 06 December 2011 | Report This Post | |
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| Great film but overated | |
| Its funny how many people who dont really like movies have come up to me and said that "The Green Mile" is an incredible movie. But when I watched it, I could understand where they were coming from but didnt find it the masterpeice I was told about. The story is amazing, as are the entire cast, there are great scenes and great characters and the film is very emotional but it is too lengthy and looks alot to me as if Darabont has stuck too closely to his source material. There are many... More | |
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Posted by stevolegendbauer at 18:36, 10 August 2010 | Report This Post | |
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| Unforgetable. | |
| They don't make films like this anymore. Never have I used so many emotions in one movie such as this. It will haunt you for a good long time, I thought about it when I went to bed and is still in my mind today. The pefomances were outstanding from Tom Hanks, Michael Clark Duncan, James Cromwell, David Morse and Bonnie Hunt. Yes it's a very long film and can be a slow burner but keep with it, simply unforgetable and breathtaking ... More | |
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Posted by joanna likes films at 11:40, 15 April 2010 | Report This Post | |
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| Nothing special | |
| that's all ... More | |
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Posted by shady_88 at 17:34, 19 December 2009 | Report This Post | |
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| Good movie | |
| but this is not a masterpiece like The Shawshank Redemption. People love this movie too much ... More | |
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Posted by shady_88 at 12:26, 20 April 2009 | Report This Post | |
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| Simply Astounding | |
| This is by far one of the greatest films of all time- and definitely one of the most incredible book adaptations i have ever come across. Darabont not only understands the true horror of Stephen King's writing, but is able to appreciate the depth with which King is writing, and this comes across easily in the film. Every actor/ actress involved gives a stunning performance, with Hanks bringing to life the wonderous character of Paul Edgecombe that i truly believe no other actor could- he IS Edge... More | |
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Posted by amyg at 12:54, 09 October 2008 | Report This Post | |
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| The Green Mile | |
| There's no doubt that The Green Mile is a masterpiece. However my only gripes are it's length-very drawn out-and the lack of bite to juxtapose the cuteness. An Extremely emotive film and another blinder is played by Hanks! ... More | |
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Posted by t_bell at 18:55, 14 April 2008 | Report This Post | |
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| Brilliant, amazing, astounding! | |
| This film... well words can't even describe how great it is! The first film that I have ever cried too and every time I watch it now I ball like a baby! It follows the book so well (which I also cried at!) If you haven't seen it make sure you do before you die, trust me you wont be disappointed! ... More | |
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Posted by Empo at 12:47, 07 February 2008 | Report This Post | |
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| Saddeningly Beautiful | |
| This excellent movie is a must for all people of the world. The disturbing world of death row in the hands of Tom hanks' Paul edgecomb is something that must be experienced. Michael Clarke duncans' John coffey adds to the beauty, and everyone must see this film. Frank Darabont, We Salute you! ... More | |
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Posted by blaud at 12:06, 24 January 2008 | Report This Post | |
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| Just Watch it! | |
| Wow! Brilliant! Emotional, Funny, Amazing! This Film Gives you a real feeling of what life was like during the deppression and makes you realise that everybody makes mistakes, some for the worst some for good. It also shows the audience the power that one man can have over another no matter how big or scary or murderous he is. In the end of it all we will meet our maker and he/she may be smaller than us but they have the power over us and this film explains it beautifully. ... More | |
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Posted by DJ Funktris at 20:16, 02 July 2007 | Report This Post | |
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| Brilliant adaption of a Classic Stephen King story | |
| I am a big fan of the book, and when I saw the film version of "The Green Mile" I was overjoyed. Tom Hanks is brilliantly cast as Paul Edgecombe, the Guard on Death Row and Michael Clark Duncan IS actually John Coffey. Brilliantly acted and extremely touching. If you aren't touched in some way by the end, you have no Soul. A Fantastic film... up there among the best. If you haven't seen it, get the DVD, you won't be dissapointed. ... More | |
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Posted by SimpleSimpson92 at 17:42, 16 June 2007 | Report This Post | |
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| A very saddening film that has it's moments but doesn't live up to that just special extra that they have in Shawshank ... More | |
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Posted by willchadwick at 16:49, 09 May 2007 | Report This Post | |
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| One of the best EVER! | |
| This film is right up there in my top ten films ever. It will have you laughing, crying and shouting at the screen. It's a film that touches your emotions unlike most films these days. Performances from all are amazing.. wonderful stuff! How long will we have to wait for another film of this quality? ... More | |
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Posted by surfy at 13:06, 13 November 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| makes death row seem fun. | |
| This is a very good adaptation of Stephen Kings fantastic book. A rather sad film as well as bieng rather funny. Its a rather sad film/book. Very good but certainly not as good as the book. ... More | |
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Posted by solid snake at 18:14, 21 October 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| L: Bobby1975 L: Wilbert I also remember when you see the really old mouse at the end there was a loud "for fucks sake" in the cinema and you could hear a lot of people reacting as if the director had just gone too far. oh you cynical so and so!!ote] In my defence, it wasn't that uttered the "for fucks sake". ... More | |
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Posted by Wilbert at 15:29, 17 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| L: Wilbert I also remember when you see the really old mouse at the end there was a loud "for fucks sake" in the cinema and you could hear a lot of people reacting as if the director had just gone too far. oh you cynical so and so!! ... More | |
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Posted by Bobby1975 at 14:20, 17 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| The Green Mile is one of my favourite movies. The performances are outstanding especially Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks. It is also written and directed perfectly. I'd give it five stars. ... More | |
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Posted by buffy at 17:49, 16 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| I liked it well enough but it suffers from being made by the same director as Shawshank and having the same writer. It's not as good as Shawshank and I think the really bad effect of what look like flies coming out of Clarkes mouth could have been left out. I also remember when you see the really old mouse at the end there was a loud "for fucks sake" in the cinema and you could hear a lot of people reacting as if the director had just gone too far. ... More | |
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Posted by Wilbert at 12:36, 16 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| A beautiful film, with superb performances. ... More | |
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Posted by KnightofZyryab at 12:24, 16 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| Just ... More | |
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Posted by *Jack of all Trades* at 18:48, 15 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| A truly brilliant and very emotional film. If you don't have a tear in your eye by the end then you need to check your pulse. The whole cast play their roles to perfection. A really moving picture. ... More | |
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Posted by PedroSanchez at 11:24, 15 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Amazing | |
| A little too overly sentimental in places (guy stamps on lovable mouse = heartbreak) but a quality film none the less. Flawless acting! ... More | |
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Posted by BobaJango at 23:02, 14 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Amazing | |
| Absolutley amazing. Amazingly acted, directed and filmed. I had tears in my eyes at the end. The Green Mile shoud be put on "top ten movies of all time" shelf. ... More | |
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Posted by Nerky at 20:06, 14 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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