Epic Story of Prison Life

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2015)

The Green Mile is a great movie, almost epic in length but it never drags. This story of prison life consists of a series of episodes and scenes that are woven together to tell the experience of one man who spent a number of years working with inmates on death row and another man of great physical presence whose heart was larger than life. Some of the most depraved behaviour comes from one of the guards, who is bent on inflicting as much suffering and humiliation as he can get away with. I would point out that it is a movie that deals with the supernatural, so realism is not a factor in assessing the movie. However, we do see human nature at its best and worst. The best examples shine because of the extreme depravity and sadism that we experience. It is not a movie for the faint of heart; it is based on a Stephen King novel. King is not known for shying away from graphic descriptions of violence or what others might describe as "being in bad taste". So this movie brings those literary images to the screen. On the other hand, we also witness supernatural scenes but they are not treated as a normal part of the action, as in many modern "thrillers". I was tremendously impressed by Tom Hanks' performance but all the cast made a great contribution to the show. It is certainly a great movie, albeit with a confused ending. Despite that, I would gladly view it again.