A Good Film, But No "Shawshank Redemption"

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2000)

Whether it is fair to compare this film with "The Shawshank Redemption" is a question up for debate. However, since there is no decision on that topic I am going to make the comparison. "The Green Mile" is a long way from "The Shawshank Redemption". This film deals with a massive death row inmate in 1935 Louisiana played by Michael Clarke Duncan (in an Oscar nominated performance) who is charged with the murders of two small girls. It is clear from the start that this man is not evil or dangerous at all, in fact he is blessed with the power to heal. The supernatural aspect of this movie turned me off almost immediately. It seemed that writer-producer-director Frank Darabont was going for something between "The Shawshank Redemption" and one of Stephen King's other novels that dealt with supernatural phenomena. The result is a film that is uneven in many respects, in spite of the fact that it is very well made. Tom Hanks does nothing to help out the problem as he gives his weakest performance in years. William Sadler and Gary Sinise have such little screen time that one barely even notices them. Everyone else just seems to be along for the ride. Duncan is the revelation. He keeps a questionable screenplay above water and holds the audience's attention for most of the 3 hours and 7 minutes. That's another drawback, this film is way too long. I think that 30 minutes could have been deleted and the end product would have still been the same. A very considerate 4 out of 5 stars.