A poignant, wonderfully performed supernatural drama

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2000)

Those who complain about the length of THE GREEN MILE should count themselves lucky that there are some film-makers around willing to put faith in their work and its value rather than fob you off with 90 minutes of the usual over-edited dross. And though I accept that there's little in the film that hasn't been done before, there's also little in it that has been done better. Although not as cohesively structured as THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE is that wonderful film's equal because it explores evil and injustice in a more telling and confrontational manner. So what if all the bad characters are EXTREMELY bad? Would more morally ambiguous characters have really served the thrust of the story? One of the film's strengths is its simplicity both in story and character. A movie as touching and marvellously acted as this deserves nothing but praise.