The Green Mile works as a film because it's not tied to a specific type of entertainment. There's something to entertain and stir everyone. Some of my favorite movies have been about prison inmates, including I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang , Cool Hand Luke , The Shawshank Redemption , and Stir Crazy . The men in a prison are either guilty of their crime, or they're not, and are wrongfully imprisoned. In either case, this pegs every inmate in the prison as an intriguing story waiting to be told.
Prisons are, in that way, a microcosmos into themselves, like an antfarm or a city in a bottle.
The Green Mile . The script is funny in parts, touching throughout, and has few plotholes or inconsistencies that I could see. As I heard the casting decisions, and read the script again, I have to concur with their choices, as they all seem to be great matches. A good deal of the above commentary was also used in my preview of Life , as I felt both movies shared a great deal despite being completely different films in tone and content.