A Little Editing Please

Rating: 9/10 (20 April 2006)

I had no experience with the book. I should have suspected that the supernatural would begin to play into this. It took me a while to get away from it being a grandchild of "To Kill a Mockingbird" to a movie about healing and the power to heal. The whole issue of the electric chair is what I remember the most. The dramatic way we have performed capital punishment. I remember Susan Hayward in " I Want to Live." I was 10 years old and the movie still haunts me. Had this man not been a healer, a supernatural creature, the story would have been just fine. His character is so multi-dimensional in the way it lights up a screen. He has that strong presence that says, "All will be right." He goes about his business despite the hatred that hovers around him, the redneck culture that has done this to him. He holds his head high because he is right. Tom Hanks is second in the portrayal of pain, both physical and emotional. He is such a heroic figure himself. This is quite a film.
I am going to have to agree, however, with the people who complain about the length. I believe with proper film editing, this could have been a compact two and a half hours and it would have had much more impact on the audience. There are times when one says, enough, and I hate to be thinking that. I found my mind wandering at times. That mentioned, see this, but be prepared for a movie of human ugliness but hopefulness.