Dreary waste of time

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 2011)

This is a fantasy, based on the assumptions that extra-sensory perception and healing by the laying-on of hands are possible. The main fantasy figure is a (black) giant, condemned to death for the murder of two (white, beautiful) little girls. Naturally, we find out (that helpful ESP, such a lazy plot device) that he is innocent. The true killer is also on Death Row and meets his deserved end. Oh, and the gentle giant cures the warden's wife of a brain tumor but is executed anyway, which is convenient because the pain of existence is too much for him. Camus, eat your heart out. On top of this torpid sentimentality are layers of ugliness and violence (no fewer than three executions in the electric chair, all depicted in fascinated detail).
Other Stephen King novels have led to astonishing movies. The Dead Zone also relies on ESP, but is compelling. Maybe that's because Christopher Walken is compelling, while the cast of Green Mile has the collective charisma of a wet Sunday in South Bend, Indiana. Whatever the cause, the output is a dud.
Avoid.