Does Contain Spoilers, Very Good Film, an emotional thrill ride!

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2008)

The Green Mile, directed by Frank Darabont, is based on the story by Stephen King. It is set on Death Row and introduces us to many weird, but wonderful, characters. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is the main guard on the Green Mile (the ward has a green floor), who looks after the inmates that are awaiting execution. His workmates are lovable guards, all except one, Percy Wetmore, is a ruthless, vindictive man, who will stop at nothing to make himself seem more powerful.
The story is a flashback of Paul's life. Now in a retirement home, he begins to tell us his story; which doesn't really begin until a new inmate, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), joins the people on the Green Mile.
He is a huge, giant black man, convicted of the murder of two little white girls, but he is not what he seems, like the fact he is scared of the dark and is very sensitive deep down inside. He also carries a supernatural ability, which is used to help the people that surround him. Coffey, "like the drink, only not spelled the same," is a simpleminded, illiterate man who causes no trouble, but is found crying, with the girl's bodies in his hands and the question of whether he committed the crime, stays in your mind until the concluding part of the film, when the characters finally find out the truth.
Throughout the film, there are scenes of powerful emotion, one where Del Delacroix (Michael Jeter) is told that his pet mouse, Mr Jingles, won't be going to mousy heaven because there isn't one and the final scene for John Coffey, which is a definite tear jerker, so get the tissues out. However, there are scenes that have strong horror, like one scene shows the audience the horrific consequence if water is not added to the prisoner's head, before the electric execution, therefore this movie is not for sensitive souls and it is one of the reasons that it is rated 18. Other moments of great impact include the relationship between one man, Del, and his mouse, Mr Jingles and the subplots involving the wives of Paul (Bonnie Hunt) and the warden (Patricia Clarkson).
The centre of the movie, is based around the relationship of Edgecomb and Coffey and how Coffey can help things that are suffering, "I just took it back, is all" and his ability takes the story right to the end of the film when he frees himself of other people's pain and hands it to Paul.
When watching the film, it reminded me a lot of the story "Of mice and men" by John Steinbeck. Both tales were set in the Depression era when men were finding it hard to find work and black people were being discriminated against. John Coffey is much like the character Lennie, Paul like George and Percy is like Curley. Also, in 'Of Mice and Men' Lennie is blamed for murdering the mice, puppy and Curley's wife, and in The Green Mile, Coffey is blamed for the murder of the two girls.
The acting is extremely good, Michael Clarke Duncan's character is created in such a way that everyone is hoping that there will be a happy ending in store for him and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Whilst, Tom Hanks' character is more of a responsible person that you really get to know how he is feeling and he wins the audience's sympathy. Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) is a character that you love to hate and Mr Jingles, the mouse, is the star of the show.
The music in the film has perfect timing, which makes it more of an emotional ride and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound (Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick and Willie D. Burton) and for an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film, USA Award, for Best Music (Thomas Newman).
Overall, the movie is fantastic; it is a gripping tale that will keep you intrigued until the very last moment. The acting and music turns the film into something quite magical and it has scenes that range from being so intense that you feel as if you were there, to moments where you wish you had bought some more tissues. However, the only thing that spoils the film is the length of it, a whopping three hours and eight minutes makes the tale seem that it is dragging on a little too much.