The Green Mile
(1999)

Rated: R
Runtime: 3 Hours and 8 Minutes

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Reviewer: Dale
Grade: A+

This is not quite a perfect movie, but it is so close that it hardly matters.

"The Green Mile" is based on a novel by Stephen King. As soon as I read the novel, I fell in love with it. It's the sort of novel that reminds you why you bother to read Stephen King. I like all of King's books (okay, except the "Tommyknockers", sorry, Steve, but it was rather weak), but every so often Steve just knocks one out of the park. "The Shining", "IT", "Misery", all of these are King at his top form. And "The Green Mile" belongs in that list. So when I heard that they were making a movie from this novel, naturally, I was excited. When I heard it was to be directed by Frank Darabont, the man behind my favorite King adaption for the movies ("The Shawshank Redemption"), my excitement grew. When I heard it was going to star Tom Hanks (perhaps my favorite actor of all time). Well, I knew I was going to be going opening weekend, that much was for sure.

With those sort of expectations, I could very easily have been disappointed. But it is a testament to this film that it is even better than I thought it would be.

The story concerns a death row guard named Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks). Paul is in charge of the death row (they call it "The Green Mile" because of the green linoleum) in a penal institution in Louisiana. One day, he meets a towering, black inmate named John Coffey who changes his life forever. John is a very simple man, a bit on the slow side, and he is also fairly odd. One day, he touches Paul and Paul's violent urinary infection seems to disappear. Soon, Paul finds himself drawn to this man and wondering if maybe the man doesn't belong on Death Row after all.

That is just the tip of the iceberg for this magnificently told story. Yes, it is long, but not a moment of its running time is wasted. I was captivated from the first frame to the last, even though I already knew how the story would play itself out (I had, after all, read the book....several times). It is a story told with beauty and wonder and heart. It has a magical quality to it. The scenes in the 1930's are given a sheen that represents the nostalgia of days gone by and it just looks beautiful. Some of the events could have easily became hokey, but Darabont is a master visual storyteller and he has just the right touch with every scene. He also draws exceptional performances from his great cast. Hanks is, as usual, a wonder to behold. The man could be captivating in a tampon commercial. Michael Clarke Duncan is also brilliant. He gives his all to this character and makes him real when he could easily have been a stereotype. Everyone in the cast gives top drawer performances.

By the end, I found that a surprising thing had happened. I found myself staring at the screen, watching the events unfold and crying. Actually crying. And not just a little. I, who had never even blinked when Old Yeller got shot, was sobbing like a little girl. For something like that to happen, for a cynical old seen-it-all bastard like myself to be reduced to tears takes a lot of skill.

This marvelous film has that in spades.