Movie Review

The Green Mile(1999)


The Green Mile poster

It has been 21 years and we still cannot get over John Coffey's wrongful execution. Often criticized for its 3 hour running time, The Green Mile doesn't make feel bored at any point but it creates a desire among the audience to know what happens next. In short, if you want to have a good cry or you just want a movie that is going to stay with you for a long long time, The Green Mile is a sure go.

Plot and presentation: 

The Green Mile maybe Frank Darabont's most notable work after 1994's The Shawshank Redemption. The movie carries a quite similar tone to The Shawshank Redemption but in a magical aspect. The magic realism adds a unique tone to this movie and binds us with it for 3 hours. 
The movie is about a retired commanding officer of death row cellblocks Paul Edgecomb (brilliantly played by Tom Hanks) who recollects his memories of 'the Green mile' at an old age home. Paul remembers when he first met John Coffey(played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan) in his cell. Coffey, who was accused of raping and murdering two little girls had a very intimidating physique. The calmness of his voice, his pure and innocent gaze makes us grow fond of that character even when we are not sure if he is innocent or not. 
The magic realism theme is what I liked most about the movie. The movie has many tear-jerking scenes and all the credit goes to Michael Clarke Duncan for his outstanding performance. The story does not focus solely on one character but it centralizes the events at 'The Green Mile'. We soon grow fond of another character named 'Del' who was one of the inmates. We don't get to know anything about his back story but we know that he is a good person at heart. His bonding with Mr. Jingles (a mouse) makes us smile. That's why we feel tremendous hatred when he was executed wrongfully by Percy.
The last few minutes of this movie are what I found most depressing but also somehow satisfying. The fate of the antagonists was well deserved but the fate of the protagonists pull the strings of our hearts.

Study of the Characters: 

We see many characters in the 3 hours of this movie. Paul Edgecomb is the main character, who is the officer-in-charge of the E-block. Paul is very professional in his duty. He very much likes to keep most of the things to himself and the character was brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hanks. Although he is shown as a very professional officer, he has great moral values, as he was willing to risk his job to help John run away from the cell.

John Coffey's character was also brilliantly written by Stephen King. Almost nothing about his past is revealed but we feel emotionally connected to this character. Even without his special abilities, he is very lovable to the audience because of his caring and humble nature. The emotions of this character were also brilliantly executed by Michael Clarke Duncan for which he was nominated for an academy award for the best supporting character. 

The characters we really hate are Percy and 'Wild Billy'. Percy is shown as a bully but secretly a coward. He is somewhat deranged and likes to enjoy violence, that's why he didn't think twice before stepping on Del's mouse. He is tolerated by his fellow officers just because he has connections with people who work at higher authorities. On the other hand 'Wild Billy'( played by Sam Rockwell) is the definition of a complete psycho. He doesn't possess emotions and thoughts which can be considered normal. 

Verdict:            

The Green Mile is a great choice for a one time watch as it is quite difficult to rewatch already knowing the fate of the main characters. Still, it is one of those movies which are going to stay with you for a long time. The rating for this Frank Darabont masterpiece would be 9.5/10.