The Green Mile

The Green Mile is a masterwork. This is film as art, at it's very best. The depth of the cast is extraordinary, with all of the players delivering excellent performances. There is a clear sense here that all involved in the production knew that this was something special, and gave it their all. See this film if you truly enjoy actors giving everything to their craft. Watch for the countless subtleties of expression, and the great power that the cast creates with silence. This is evident in the opening sequence and remains throughout. Above all, Michael Duncan as John Coffey is exceptional. He brings gripping emotion to a unique, fascinating character.

The Green Mile should bring you joy, laughter, and if you are like most in the theater this night, tears.

BRAVO!

This is the first time I ever saw this fantastic actor. There is something very interesting going on behind his eyes and compelling about everything he does when he is on screen. Do people know how truly rare that is? He's watchable from the moment he shows up to the moment he's gone and you can't wait for him to show up again. That is serious start quality. I have sense come to love him in everything he's been in. I even watched a superhero movie because he was in it lol. Just kidding. Superhero movies have good and bad just like every other genre. I love great acting and great actors. Sam Rockwell is one of my favorites.

Some of the supporting characters are a little two-dimensional, but 'The Green Mile' is an incredibly effective prison drama with terrific performances and a script that deals with grief in an innovative and emotionally resonant way.

Having seen the movie, The Green Mile, and read the novel of the same name by Stephen King, I am glad to say that the movie stays true to the book, which in itself is a great read. I read the book in one setting about a year ago, and after seeing the movie, I didn't see one scene from the book, or one plot point, left out. There were a few minor changes from the book but which in no way detract from either work. As far as performances, I can imagine many people pointing to Michael Duncan as John Coffey or Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb as the best performances of the movie, and they are good, but I would hope that Michael Jeter would receive recognition for portraying Eduard Delacroix. He plays Delacroix exactly as I pictured him when I read the book. I can very well see why King himself said this is his favorite of the movies adapted from his novels. It is the only one played out as he had written it. I wouldn't compare this movie or the book to (Rita Hayworth and) The Shawshank Redemption because that would be unfair to both. They are both great, but are both different. The Green Mile isn't a movie about hope and friendship, as The Shawshank Redemption was, it is a movie about a miracle of a man, and the people he affects. But like The Shawshank Redemption, I give The Green Mile 4 out of 4 stars. Great story, great cast, great look.

Frank Darabont returns to the directors chair with another adaptation of Stephen Kings novel. The events take place at a death row, the guards call the green mile. The story is a layered, rather character-driven fantasy tale of the events that transpire at "the mile" after the arrival of a giant man, John Coffey (Michael Duncan), convicted of the murder of two small girls. Actually this is not one single story, but several tied together seamlessly.

A character-driven movie requires a lot from the cast, and fortunately when it comes to cast, The Green Mile delivers. As the poster of the movie tells, this movie stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, senior prison guard of the mile, and as always he performs very well indeed. Yet the cast around him is even more spectacular, perhaps partially due to them being relatively unknown. With a face you know, one inevitably remembers previous performances, and the new role is coloured by this. Doug Hutchison as Percy Wetmore, a mean spirited prison guard was particularly impressive, yet his character could have been given more depth. The most captivating was the performance of Michael Duncan.

It is hard to find a flaw in this movie. The camerawork is superb, cast wonderful and direction flawless. The movie's considerable length, a bit over three hours, is something that had me worried. Yet the marvellous cast and the peaceful yet firm pace of the movie held my attention progressively through the three hours right to the touching culmination. Many will find this movie to be too long, but I for one was delighted of the style, combination of simplicity of events and depth of characters and conversation.

All in all the The Green Mile is a very touching drama, with the joys and sorrows of the life pictured with great skill, if not the best movie of the year. Five out of five.