Supernatural prison drama is a feather in the cap for all involved

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2016)

An excellent prison epic which proves to be another splendid adaptation of a Stephen King novel – the bar has certainly been raised in the '90s for such adaptations after all the trash we got in the 1980s (MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE anybody? Thought not). THE GREEN MILE is a splendid exploration of man's psychology, interactions with other men, and attitudes towards life and death emphasised by the uncomfortable Death Row setting. The characters in this film are vividly portrayed by many accomplished actors and actresses and the film works best as a slow-burning character drama packed with incident and occasionally fireworks. Of course being a King story there is a supernatural aspect to the tale (a prisoner is able to perform miracles) but this does not detract from the realism that the film offers in its story.
The narrative is excellent, the film a visual triumph, the special effects work limited and therefore effective. Tom Hanks is great as Paul Edgecomb, the sweaty guard who comes to believe that one of his captives is an angel sent from heaven, but best of all is big Michael Clarke Duncan in an emotional performance that will have any decent viewer reaching for the handkerchiefs during the course of the movie. Also welcome are excellent supporting turns from David Morse, Michael Jeter, and Barry Pepper as fellow prison guards, James Cromwell as the sympathetic Warden and Harry Dean Stanton being weird as always. But the characters who really stick in the mind are the villains: Sam Rockwell as the sleazy, psychopathic inmate who causes no end of grief, and particularly Doug Hutchison as perverted guard Percy. Hutchison, most familiar from his encore performance as mutant killer Tooms in two X-FILES performances back when the show was good, is fantastic in his part and really loathsome – evil, mean and treacherous, but also cowardly, childish and unthinking - a wondrous turn.
The film runs the gamut of emotions from A to Z. Love, fear, wonder, anger, everything in the human condition is explored here at one point or another. There are also a number of shockingly violent moments more powerful than any horror film – this is truly a prison movie for modern times. The worst scene has a prisoner frying on the electric chair but not dying. Ten minutes later he finally dies having emptied the building. A truly gruesome and disturbing moment. THE GREEN MILE is suspenseful, exciting, moving, and often profound – not to mention tear-jerking at key points. Thus it gets two thumbs up from this viewer. Watch out for Mr Jingles, the cutest and cleverest mouse ever seen in a movie (forget MOUSE HUNT for sure).