Remember That Movie: The Green Mile
In case you don’t remember, The Green Mile begins with an old man, Paul Edgecomb, in a nursing home, thinking about the past. He’s so afflicted by his memories that he begins sharing them with a friend (a.k.a. the audience). This, an old man remembering astonishing days of the distant, serves as the framework for a three-hour-plus story.
The memorable year is 1935. Edgecomb, played with nice guy authority by Tom Hanks, is in charge of a death row known as the Green Mile for its lime green flooring. He, with his staff of five, watches over the condemned during their final days and practices the electrocution of each and every inmate with great professionalism and care – despite having probably been through the whole she-bang several times before. The story centers on what happens during the stay of one particular inmate, John Coffey (say it with me now, “like the drink, only not spelled the same.”). Others come and go during this time, including a mouse. But the story implies, despite the amount of time it devotes to them, they don’t matter as much as Coffey, a towering gentle giant played by Michael Clarke Duncan. It doesn’t take long to suspect Coffey’s innocence, after which we learn that he has a magical gift, which he shares with Paul. This is what drives the major plot points of the rest of the movie.
I use the word ‘drive’ loosely since The Green Mile suffers from a complete lack of momentum. This is a deliberately paced character piece with a dose of fantasy to dazzle the masses. The problem is that not enough is done with the fantasy material. The film wants to be both a prison drama that showcases the characters and acting, as well as a fantasy with high-brow themes. It isn’t enough for it to settle on the relationships these inmates develop with the guards-as-caretakers/executioners – or even the contradictory nature of a job that requires one to sooth these men only to eventually march them to their deaths – or what happens when a bad seed is introduced on either side of the bars. These are the things that a movie like Shawshank would revel in.
Unfortunately, what works on the page doesn’t always work on screen. Coffey is the purpose of the story, but to make him and his themes effective the rest of the characters and their drama would have to be played down, making for a slimmer adaptation. There’s also a certain solemnity toward Coffey that the movie tells you to feel, but fails to come through. Not everything that happens to John Coffey makes sense or is explored as fully as everything else. If the film is in part about miracles happening in the face of human cruelty, then it why not have Coffey share his gift with the nastiest characters instead of the good guys? Otherwise he’s preaching to the choir.
That said The Green Mile is a fine film full of outstanding performances among a great cast. The film stars James Cromwell, Graham Greene, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Jeter, David Morse, Barry Pepper, Sam Rockwell, Harry Dean Stanton, and Gary Sinise (who’s reunited with Hanks for an unfortunately disposable scene that serves only to reunite the Forrest Gump duo). Jeter gives probably the best performance of his career as a Cajun who befriends a mouse. He also has a most gruesome execution that is probably what gave the film its R rating. Rockwell, as a rambunctious killer, and Morse as Paul’s sidekick, Brutal, also offer impressive work. Kudos must also go to Doug Hutchison (unrecognizable as Horace in Lost), who plays the rotten guard Percy, a conniving, sadistic squirt with the temperament of a schoolyard bully. He’s incapable of compassion and serves as Rockwell’s mirror image. Hutchison gives a performance here that is vile in the best ways possible.
The Green Mile is a lengthy character piece that falls short of greatness due to its slavish faithfulness to its source novel. It isn’t Darabont’s best work (that may be that other character-driven prison drama based on a Stephen King story). The film was nominated for Best Picture, but was deemed the dark horse – rightly so, as there were movies that got the Oscar snub and more deserving of the honor. The Green Mile has weight, but is awfully sluggish and is that rare adaptation that could’ve benefited by being less faithful.
6/10
Should you see it? Rent
The Green Mile is available on 2-disc special edition DVD and Blu-Ray.
Note: if you get curious enough to check out The Green Mile, be sure to grab the Blu-Ray as even the special edition DVD divides the 3-hour feature between two discs shortly after the second execution.