Fairly well endowed to the book

Rating: Null/10 (1 May 2000)

Before going to see The Green Mile tonight, it was only very recently that I had read the novel, and so I was able to know who the names of the characters were fairly quickly, and a lot of the story,for the extreme running time it occupied, became pretty easy to follow.
But, if truth be told, I could have read the book 4 years ago when it was originally published, and still today be able to draw the same comparisons.The fact is, that if you read any novel which the film you are about to see is based on, you can make up your own interpretation of the story, and that is way better, because it happens at your own pace, and it unravels in your own way. So, out of the two, although the film was good, I would probably advise to read the book instead.
The film picked a wise number when it chose to add light, humorous intervals to the story,e.g. Mr.Jingles first introduction, and all the other comic moments it inspired. A movie focusing on a story this grim and unrelenting would need moments like this to make it bearable, because when it is, it chills the blood with it's nastiness. John Coffey's wailing with the two dea d girls, and Eduard Delacroix's execution are profoundly nasty moments in the film. Another of the film's merits is the performances of it's stars. Tom Hanks seems to subconsciously mesmerise with his portrayal of the lead character. His bit as the regular honcho guy who has to place firm law and order on the inmates and his henchmen is affected by the smallest of things. His eye movement, his expressions, and his observations of the time and the place and indeed, the situation he is in truly lift the character he is playing up many notches. As for Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey, well, in the next role I see him in, I'll be wishing he was in this one again. With one shot, he transforms a regular joe movie personality into a magnificent powerhouse of a performance, that powerfully renders all the cliches/stereotypes obsolete.
Another asset of reading the book, however, is also that if you absorb it, if you take in everything that is happening, ,it will make the film go by far quicker. Although the novel is a far greater suggestion, really, The Green Mile is what proper moviemaking is all about.****