Bring your box of Kleenex

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2001)

I have been known to get a little misty eyed during emotional movies. I've even shed a few tears at particularly moving soap opera weddings and Hallmark Greeting Card commercials. The Green Mile takes this to a whole new level. The powerful and gripping screenplay left me not just crying, but sobbing loudly in the theatre. Even after 2 subsequent viewings, the emotion is still just as vivid as it was the first time around.

A fabulous motion picture experience. Frank Darabont has crafted yet another stunning prison drama which, while not quite at the level of "Shawshank Redemption", is a very close second. Tom Hanks is excellent as always, but Michael Clarke Duncan turns in in a performance that clearly holds its own against, and often steals the spotlight from, the veteran Hanks.
The execution scenes were so brilliantly filmed that they were almost unwatchable. The gruesome horrors of prison life actually made you empathize with most of the inmates and their death sentences. Had we been given more details about Del's crimes, however, our sympathy may not have been flowing so freely. We see him only the simple-minded caregiver of Mr. Jingles, thus making it easier for us to like him.
If I were handed the death sentence for a crime, I'd certainly rather serve it on the Green Mile, where you are treated like a human being by caring prison guards, than in any other prison ever depicted on film. With the exception of Percy, the guards and wardens in this film have an unbelievable relationship with their prisoners.
The religious references and parallels to a certain Christian figure were none too subtle, but delivered a strong message - if there was a powerful "healer" in our midst, would we condemn him just as easily? The bible tells us so.
All the elements of this film weave seamlessly together to produce a movie that, had it been released a year later against the lack-lustre pictures of 2000, would probably have earned the Oscar for Best Picture. From the screenplay, to the score, from the performances to the cinematography, Green Mile is a fascinating film that draws you in for three-plus hours and leaves you breathless, not to mention a little misty eyed.
Words cannot possibly do this film justice, a near masterpiece.