Just when you've lost faith in Hollywood, this comes along

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 1999)

The Green Mile: Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is in charge of death row at Louisiana's Cold Mountain Penitentiary in the 1930's. Despite the nature of the job, he takes great pains to make life comfortable for the inmates he must eventually shepherd to the Grim Reaper. Edgecomb's life is changed forever when he meets John Coffey (Michael Duncan), a gentle giant with a unique gift who may have been wrongly convicted. Unlike "Eyes Wide Shut" and some other super hyped movies this year, the promotion machine for Mile has been running on idle - unless you're a movie fan or you read the book you probably haven't even heard of it until this past week. Brought to the screen by the duo responsible for Shawshank Redemption (author Stephen King and director Frank Darabont) I expected nothing less than excellence. I was not disappointed.

On it's most basic level, The Green Mile could be described as a study of good vs evil or a debate over the pros / cons of capital punishment but such a simple analysis does the film a disservice. A tightly written story it interweaves humor, horror, mystery, mysticism, and drama. At three hours long however, it might not appeal to the casual moviegoer.

The casting is superb and the actors mesh well, an important consideration given the set's confined spaces (according to Hanks, the area they had to work in was no larger than 100 square feet). I would love to discuss the performances of the entire cast- Hanks, Barry Pepper, Michael Jeter, etc - but two actors in particular stand out: Duncan whose combined physical presence and surprising acting skills make Coffey believable (rumor has it that at one point Shaquille O'Neal was considered for the role - all I can say is thank heaven for small miracles) and Doug Hutchinson as Percy the sadistic prison guard - arguably the most evil character since Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Without these two actors, the film simply would not have gelled as well as is does.
If the recent deluge of cinematic drivel has left you feeling that Hollywood has forgotten the art of film making, this movie will change your mind.