a good Hollywood film

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 1999)

Another really good and really long film that will definitely be up for multiple Oscar nominations, too. All of the acting is very good; I especially liked Michael Jeter as the Cajun on death row. The movie's a bit unusual in that it has several different sub-plots along the way before the main story really gets cooking. But they do a great job of developing the world of death row as well as the characters kicking around there. The movie's bookended with present-day scenes that were probably in Stephen King's original novel, but just seemed kind of silly to me.
The villains in the film were a bit too Eeevil to be believed, but hey, it's death row, right? Still, I really enjoyed it and would even be willing to see it again, were someone else to pay for my second trip. And lots of sniffles in the audience, so you might want to bring a handkerchief to be on the safe side. Go see it. You don't want to be the last person in America who still hasn't seen it. ;)