The Green Mile

Plot synopsis:
The movie begins with an old man named Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer) in a retirement center. He takes two pieces of dry toast from an orderly, who mentions Paul's habit for taking walks outside the ground. The orderly is worried about Paul, but allows him to continue with his daily routine.Paul and several other residents are watching TV when an old movie with Fred Astaire dancing to the song "Heaven" is on. Paul sees it and walks away, followed by his friend Elaine (Eve Brent). Elaine realizes that the movie has awakened some powerful memories for Paul, and asks about it. Paul tells Elaine his story: that he was a prison guard during the Depression, in charge of Death Row, informally called "The Green Mile," because of its green tile floor. Paul's most powerful memory of this time took place in 1935....The story then flashes back to the 1930's at the State Prison, where a young Paul Edgecomb (now played by Tom Hanks) suffers from a urinary infection. Some of the other guards- Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper) and Harry Terwilliger (Jeffrey DeMunn) bring in a new inmate. His name is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) "like the drink, only not spelled the same." He is a gigantic muscular man, but when Paul talks to John they find that he has the mindset of a small child- very meek and apparently scared of the dark.When John is brought in, another guard named Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) is sent off Death Row to attend to work elsewhere. Percy is not happy about this, and in frustration he lashes out at another inmate named Eduard Delecroix (Michael Jeter), breaking Del's fingers. Paul is given a copy of John Coffey's records and finds that he was sent to Death Row after being convicted for the murder (and implied rape) of two small girls. John Coffey does not mention his crime, only stating that he "tried to take it back, but it was too late."Later on, Paul is outside when he is met by Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell). Hal gives Paul the execution papers for an inmate named Bitterbuck, and has a conversation with him about the young guard named Percy. It's revealed that Percy is the nephew of the governor's wife, and his powerful political connections are what got him hired- and keep him in the job, because Percy is apparently "stupid and mean" according to the other guards. Paul finds out that Percy has put in to be an administrator at a mental hospital, which would mean better pay and better hours. Paul theorizes that Percy wants to witness an execution up close before moving onto a new job. Warden Moores also mentions that his wife, Melinda, is not well she suffers from bad headaches and must have an X-Ray in order to find the source of the problem. That night, Paul meets with his wife Jan (Bonnie Hunt) and discusses the problem with Hal's wife.Next day, Brutus spots a mouse in the cell block. They watch it run into a small room in the corner, which turns out to be a padded room for dangerous inmates but is currently used for storage. The guards check everything in the room but do not find the mouse. A few hours later, Percy spots the mouse and goes into a fury trying to kill it. Paul berates Percy for scaring the inmates in his pursuit of the mouse. Percy doesn't care, thinking the inmates are contemptible. Paul feels differently, believing that under enough strain the inmates would "snap" and cause serious problems. Brutus grabs Percy, but Percy threatens to use his connections as nephew to the governor's wife to get the others fired if they hurt him.Paul and the others do a rehearsal for the next execution, with the prison's elderly janitor, Toot-Toot (Harry Dean Stanton) helping them. Paul instructs Percy to watch and learn while the others prep the electric chair. That night, the execution of inmate Arlen Bitterbuck is carried out. Afterward, Paul confronts Percy about his new job opportunity. Percy reveals that he wants to "be out front" (meaning placed in charge of an inmate's execution) before he leaves.Next day, the inmate named Del has found the mouse again, named it "Mr. Jingles" and is trying to tame it. The mouse is able to fetch a spool of thread as a trick. The other guards allow Del to keep Mr. Jingles as a pet.Paul meets with Warden Hal again, getting word of a new inmate coming in, a man named William Wharton who killed three people in a holdup. Hal is almost in tears; the doctors have told him that his wife Melinda has a tumor the size of a lemon in her brain, virtually inoperable and eventually fatal. That night, Paul suffers from his urinary infection even more; he is almost in constant pain.Paul intends to see the doctor next day after the new inmate is brought in. Percy and Harry go to retrieve Wharton from a hospital, where he is in an apparent trance presumably from medication. As soon as Wharton gets inside, he springs to life, attacking the guards and kneeing Paul in the groin. Dean is nearly strangled before anyone can get Wharton under control. When the others go to report what has happened, John Coffey asks to speak with Paul. When Paul approaches John's cell, John grabs Paul and puts his hand over Paul groin. John holds on for several seconds, until the lights flare brightly. John then lets go, coughing and gasping until he releases a cloud of gnat-like spores from his mouth. Paul asks what happened, but John can only say that "I helped." Later when Paul visits the washroom, he feels no pain at all. John Coffey's act has healed his infection.The next morning, Paul goes into town to see John Coffey's public defender, Burt Hammersmith (Gary Sinise) who preceded over John's trial. Burt is absolutely convinced of Coffey's guilt. Back at the prison, Paul presents John with a loaf of cornbread baked by his wife, as a thanks for Coffey's "help". Coffey shares the cornbread with Del & Mr. Jingles, but does not give any to Wharton. This enrages Wharton, who takes his fury out on the guards, urinating on Harry. The guards use a fire hose to catch Wharton off guard, then wrap him up in a straitjacket and send him to the padded room. When Wharton spits on them later, he is sent to the room again.The rehearsal for Eduard Delecroix's execution takes place the next day. Paul has decided to put Percy in charge, in the hope that he will finally leave the prison right afterward. When Percy walks by the cells later, he is grabbed by Wharton. Percy wets himself in terror, and threatens the men to never mention this. Paul states that "what happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile." They will not say anything about what happened. Del, however, delights in Percy being humiliated.Later on, Mr. Jingles runs across the room between cells. Percy walks up and stomps on the mouse, coldly uncaring about what he has done leaving Del screaming in shock. John Coffey asks for the mouse, so Paul picks it up and hands it to John. The other guards watch in shock, awe, and possibly horror as light shines from John's hands. John coughs, releases another cloud of spores, and Mr. Jingles runs across the room- good as new.Percy, seeing that the mouse is uninjured, is furious- thinking the guards have set out to make a fool out of him. Paul confronts Percy and gives him an ultimatum- Percy will transfer out immediately after Delecroix's execution, or the others will go public about Percy's record of mistreatment of the prisoners and his behavior on the Mile. Percy agrees.Just before he "walks the Mile" to the electric chair, Del gives Mr. Jingles to Paul knowing that he will be taken care of. When Paul points out that he cannot have a mouse sitting on his shoulder during an execution, John Coffey volunteers to take care of Mr. Jingles.Percy sets everything up for Del's execution, with one small exception- he does not properly soak the sponge required for proper electric conduction, wanting to punish Del one more time. As a result, the execution is excruciating for Del and the entire horrified audience- he rolls in pain, screaming and even catches fire before finally dying.The guards confront Percy, but Paul tells them that Percy isn't worth fighting over and that he will still honor their agreement to leave.Paul and his wife go to visit Hal and Melinda the next day. Hal reveals that Melinda is rapidly falling apart, she is losing her memory and experiencing severe behavior changes including uncontrollable cursing. Paul invites the other guards (minus Percy) to dinner later and discusses John Coffey's acts of healing both him and Mr. Jingles. Paul states that he wants to sneak John Coffey out to try and heal Melinda. The others are very skeptical, pointing out that Coffey is a convicted murderer, and it would be disastrous if they are found or if he escapes. Paul puts forth his belief that Coffey is innocent; Paul "does not see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child."The next day, they carry out the plan- Paul drugs Wharton so he will not see them leaving, then the others gag Percy and put him in the padded room as supposed "retribution" for Eduard Delecroix. They open up John Coffey's cell, and he is excited at the prospect of going for a ride outside and also seems to already know what they want him to do . John agrees to try and help Melinda. Wharton grabs Coffey as they head out, and John is apparently horrified by what he sees when touching Wharton.They arrive at Hal's home, and Hal threatens them with a shotgun. Paul talks him down while Coffey goes upstairs to meet Melinda. John gets very close to Melinda's face and something comes out of her mouth and into his, making the light in the room shine intensely. John breaks the connection with her, falling down coughing. Melinda sits up, looking much healthier and having no memory of anything that happened before her X-Ray. Hal collapses, weeping at his wife's restoration. John continues to cough, unable to release the "spores" like before. Melinda gives Coffey a pendant with the mark of St. Christopher-the healer- as a present.John returns to the prison, still very ill from the encounter. Percy is released, apparently keeping silent but the others still fear that he might talk. John grabs Percy, releasing the spores directly into Percy's mouth. Percy, in a daze, walks over to Wharton's cell and empties his revolver into Wharton's chest. The others seize Percy, who leans back and coughs up the remaining black spores. Upon examination, Percy appears to be catatonic. He is eventually sent to a mental hospital (ironically the same place where he was supposed to be an administrator) for presumably the rest of his life.Coffey repeats that Wharton and Percy were "bad men," and places his hand on Paul. Paul sees that Wharton was responsible for the murder John Coffey was convicted for. Now that he knows Coffey is innocent, Paul is unsure how to proceed. He talks to his wife that night and he suggests talking to John about it. He even asks Coffey if they should just "let him go." Coffey does not want to escape; he reveals that in addition to healing he can also feel the pain of all others around him and does not wish to continue with such pain in the world. Paul offers John a last request; Coffey states that he has always wanted to see a "flicker show" (a motion picture). They bring in a movie projector with the film "Top Hat," the same movie that the elderly Paul was watching at the beginning of the movie, which is what triggered Paul's memories particularly when Fred Astaire is dancing to "Heaven" and John watches in awe saying "they like angels!"That night, John Coffey is put to death as the guards watch on in tears. The elderly Paul's voice cuts in and states that he left The Green Mile soon after, unable to carry on after seeing John Coffey die. He and some of the others transferred to a youth corrections' facility.Elaine admits that Paul's tale is "quite a story," and does not apparently believe it. She also points out that Paul mentioned his son being grown up in 1935, which means he should be much older than he appears.Paul takes Elaine on a walk, and they come to a cabin in the woods. There is a mouse sleeping in a small box; Elaine is shocked to meet Mr. Jingles- Paul found the mouse again after Coffey's execution and has kept him ever since. Paul states that he is now 108 years old, and that he believes John Coffey "infected him [and Mr. Jingles] with life." Paul feels that this is his punishment for killing a genuine miracle of God- he must stay alive and watch everyone he cares about, including friends like Elaine, grow old and die before his own death.Later, Paul is seen at Elaine's funeral, quietly wondering just how much longer he has to go. "We each owe a death," he states, "There are no exceptions. But oh God, sometimes The Green Mile seems so long."

Tags: murder, whimsical, dramatic, cute, magical realism, flashback, sadist, sentimental

Review:
Having seen the movie, The Green Mile, and read the novel of the same  name by Stephen King, I am glad to say that the movie stays true to the  book, which in itself is a great read.
As far as performances, I can imagine many people pointing to Michael  Duncan as John Coffey or Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb as the best  performances of the movie, and they are good, but I would hope that  Michael Jeter would receive recognition for portraying Eduard  Delacroix.
The story is a layered, rather character-driven fantasy tale of the events that transpire at "the mile" after the arrival of a giant man, John Coffey (Michael Duncan), convicted of the murder of two small girls.
Actually this is not one single story, but several tied together seamlessly.A character-driven movie requires a lot from the cast, and fortunately when it comes to cast, The Green Mile delivers.
As the poster of the movie tells, this movie stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, senior prison guard of the mile, and as always he performs very well indeed.
Many will find this movie to be too long, but I for one was delighted of the style, combination of simplicity of events and depth of characters and conversation.All in all the The Green Mile is a very touching drama, with the joys and sorrows of the life pictured with great skill, if not the best movie of the year.
THE GREEN MILE (1999) ****Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Doug Hutchison, and Gary Sinise Written and directed by Frank Darabont.
i even say that this movie is better than shawshank redemption.fantastic story, brilliant acting,mind boggling feelings and overall an unforgettable drama.
Michael Clark Duncan put just the right shading on his huge character to make him vulnerable and sympathetic.Flawlessly shot on perfect period sets, the whole production binds together to bring the extraordinary story into the realm of a believable and compelling study of human injustice and charity..
There's a reason why this Oscar winning tour de force is #67 ranked of all films on IMDb, despite the fact that it's 3 hours long and has some truly grisly scenes (not for the squeamish, children, or a first date.)It's chock full of outstanding performances, not only from Hanks, but also from the many supporting characters, all who are rich and full.
If you ever give up hope on humanity and the destruction which our disgusting race has brought to this world, watch "The Green Mile" Hopefully it will change your outlook a little bit like it just has mine.11/10 SHOULD HAVE WON ALL THE AWARDS AVAILABLE THE YEAR OF IT'S RELEASE..
Kind of like songs, in which there are songs so brilliantly written that you can't imagine a human being writing it.I love drama, they're my favorites and I don't get bored with them especially when it's interesting; so the length, which is something complained about by a lot of people with this movie, doesn't bother me at all it just adds more interest.One of the best movies of all time and a must see!
Steven King the prolific American horror writer, chronicles this unusual story in a Louisanna prison where one Joe Coffee, (Michael Clarke Duncan) a huge, nay, enormous Black man, having been convicted of murder, is sentenced to be executed, by electrocution.
Stephen kings novel (with the same title) is not as good as the movie but it still stands tall i would recommend viewing this little gem if you're a fan of tom hanks or Stephen king.i have never watched a movie that has made me cry but i have to say i was very close to tears after the undeniable ending.the script is just outstanding and the acting is spot on.the storyline is very original as i have never seen anything like this before and i don't think anyone will ever try to copy it.if you're thinking about viewing this title and you haven't seen it already i suggest you get the tissues ready..
On whole, the cast came together and gave the best performance I have seen in a movie for a long time.
On whole, the cast came together and gave the best performance I have seen in a movie for a long time.
Tom Hanks once again provides a strong support for a talented ensemble cast.Darabont's skills as a screenwriter that even after three hours, he can bring the film to such a good, solid conclusion..
Frank Darabont directs another masterpiece adapted by a Steven King novel.Sheer brilliance at its finest.Tom Hanks makes perhaps his greatest performance as the corrections officer Paul Edgecombe who doesn't believe in miracles until he sees one.While Tom and the others all shine in their roles I think that Michael Clarke Duncan deserves most credit as his magnificent portrayal of John Coffey-a convicted 8 foot tall giant murderer.He is accused in the killing of two little girls and sentenced to death.With time however Paul starts to wonder if the gentle hearted Coffey really did commit the murder.The movie has so many emotional moments that it's hard not to sympathize with the characters.The deep emotional drama of some of them is mentally pressuring and you become connected with these people - again expertly accomplished by Darabont who perfectly understands the source material and sticks close to it.Like Shawshank before it the movie teaches us the value of human life and how strong each one of us can be.This is achieved here similarly as again there is an innocent man put in prison but unlike Andy John is touched by God.He is a magical being who calls forth sympathy and by the end the audience is so аttached to him that the somewhat tragic ending is quite sad.As his previous movie Mr Darabont creates yet another fantastic film sure to stay in your heart for a while.Steven King should be proud..
When I watch films like the Green Mile I feel absolutely furious.
However, that first look was a memorable one because this film had some dramatic moments!The acting in here is outstanding and runs the gamut from well-known actors like Tom Hanks to several unknowns, all having major roles.
The unique story gets you involved to the point where, even having to watch several very, very unpleasant scenes, you don't want to put the movie down.Big Michael Clarke Duncan elevated his career a lot with this role, playing "John Coffey," a prisoner with strange powers.
But in the end I heavily regretted having seen it and personally I think of "The Green Mile" as the first appalling film of this year.
Well, Hanks should really try something new-he's played the clean, good-natured guy so often, that it starts to get on my nerves and not just on mine.I just can't put into words, how much better, how superior "Shawshank" was than "The Green Mile".
`The Green Mile,' since it is based on a Stephen King novel, emerges as a death row prison story with a sci-fi twist.
The story here - which runs a presumptuous 3 hours and 8 minutes - is so overstuffed with subplots and subsidiary characters that it actually works to weaken the emotional effect generated by the plight facing John Coffey, the innocent messenger from God condemned to death, and Paul, the prison guard assigned to run the death row cell block, who comes to learn of Coffey's innocence.`The Green Mile' certainly has its heart in the right place, but it divides its world too evenly up into good guys and bad guys.
By so neatly divvying up the characters into clearly delineated categories of good and evil, the filmmakers rob their film of the moral complexity that might have lent it some real meaning.As to the film's rather startling and, initially unexpected, flights into fantasy, they serve mostly to further soften the edge of this already overly idealistic and mawkish story.`The Green Mile' is certainly not a `bad' film.
It has all the outward appearances of a very moving, emotionally charged film that will make you leave the theater saying "Wow." (The subject concerns Death Row inmates, Tom Hanks stars, and the director is of "The Shawshank Redemption" fame).
(And the sad thing about THAT is that I saw it on opening night).But its predictability is not even remotely one of "The Green Mile"'s major problems, and those are an overly corny, hokey story and script that are nearly impossible to buy (especially those particles that fly out of John Cofee's mouth whenever he performs a miracle--what is THAT?), acting ranging from mediocre to downright bad (no wonder John Cofee was given so few lines), and a complete inconsistency in tone.
If you're not an admirer of Stephen King books/films (I'm not) DON'T let that deter you from viewing this beautiful and spiritually-profound film; "The Green Mile" is by no means a typical horror story, although it does have a couple of horrific scenes.THE STORY: Tom Hanks plays the head Death Row guard at a Tennessee prison during the Depression.
A new inmate is introduced, a hulking black man named John Coffey (exquisitely played by Michael Clarke Duncan), who is condemned to death for the rape and murder of two little girls.
And (6.) He offers eternal life (in a sense), as evidenced by the extended life-span of the Hanks character and the mouse "Mr. Jingles." *** End SPOILER ALERT *** BOTTOM LINE: Make no mistake, "The Green Mile" is one of the greatest films ever made.
This was truly surprising since the cast members of this film are usually quite good.Tom Hanks stars as a guard in charge of the death row wing of on old southern prison.
Frank Darabont, the extraordinary director of the hit "Shawshank Redemption", comes back to the big screen with yet another adaptation of another prison drama novel by Stephen King.
This time, the story is "The Green Mile", and this time he has the help of Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan joining a powerful cast that also includes Bonnie Hunt, Michael Jeter, and Sam Rockwell.
The movie stars Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, an officer on death row, with a serious bladder infection, who rounds up a new suspect named John Coffey, portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan, a man with mysterious immortality powers, that may have been accused for the raping and killing of two innocent girls.
It is a brilliant movie, and the characters chosen for each role could not have been better portrayed if this was a true story, with the real-life people playing their own parts.
Tom Hank's closing line is even something like "the green mile can seem awfully long."  Oh the irony.Second, the writers give the characters a handicap of being incapable of communicating -- JC rambles about "helping people" when he could simply say "hey look I have special powers allow me to demonstrate."  If I were in charge of sentencing, I could see myself putting him on death row too -- it is so frustrating.
Whereas I could overlook some of the preposterous and contrived situations in Shawshank and just enjoy the movie, the Green Mile just seemed contrived except for a few scenes and characters.
oh my God..the worst piece of infantile garbage I ever sat through...considering the expectations I had, I was just so let down...there are so many prison movies better than this (and NO, Shawshank, while a great movie, is not even the best)...the emotions manipulated by this film left me cold, a little nauseated, and I would have shut the movie off about 2/3 of the way through had I not been asked to watch this film by a few friends...I think Tom Hanks is one of the most overused actors (next to Harrison Ford) ever...I am probably one of the very few viewers out there who has despised anything associated with Stephen King....NEVER overestimate the intelligence of the American public.....
Done three years after the book release, the Green Mile was nominated for four Academy Awards, which included Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay.The movie was directed by Frank Darabont who also developed the screenplay of the movie under an eight week period, an adapted screenplay that i have to commend as one of the best i have seen, but it lost in the Oscars to the movie The Cider House Rules.
Frank Darabont was also in charge of directing the critical acclaim The Shawshank Redemption which also earned him a nomination of best Adapted screenplay in 1994.The high point of this movie will be the whole movie itself; i happen to have read the book before seeing the movie so watching a well adapted novel on the silver screen made me feel like i was reading the book all over again.The movie plot and the story itself are based on a flashback of a tale Paul Edgecomb was telling an old friend about his time as a corrections officer in charge of death row inmates in the Cold Mountain Penitentiary in 1935.The cell block Paul (Tom Hanks) worked in was called the "Green Mile" because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking "the last mile".
The other guards which were Paul's friends in the movie were Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Harry Terwilliger (Jeffery DeMunn), and Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper).In addition to the guards was Percy (Doug Hutchison) an arrogant misfit who took pride in terrorising the inmates.Everything in the cell block was as usual until the guards got a visit from two inmates who changed their very view of life itself.One of the inmates that visited was John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) a giant of a man who had some weird miraculous power ability to heal and feel the pain and sufferings of others and the other was "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell) who was a psycho, murderer and paedophile.Their arrival was plagued with chaos miraculous healings and with the addition of Percy it became a handful for the other guards.The Green Mile is a movie i have seen over and over again, and i believe you will enjoy watching it too.www.lagsreviews.com.
He encounters a once in a lifetime experience when John Coffey, played by Michael Clarke Duncan, is sent to the Green Mile to await his execution.
Percy lashes out on another inmate, kills him, and then releases his "infection." Percy, in the end, ends up going to a mental hospital.My Review:The Green Mile, starring Tom Hanks, David Morse, and Michael Clarke Duncan, is a brilliantly written and produced piece of work.
This film is, by far, one of the best movies that I have seen in a very long time.
The performance of the cast of The Green Mile was above and beyond my expectations of a film that deals with a prison setting.
"The Green Mile" is a movie that made me think long and hard about supporting the death penalty.
"The Green Mile" is a movie that made me think long and hard about supporting the death penalty.
The acting was great, and it was really good how they made the executions looked realistic.Even though the film was three hours long, I was able to sit through it because you wanted to find out what happened..
Featuring rich, gripping performances by David Morse, Michael Duncan, Doug Hutchison, and of course Tom Hanks, this movie presents the human struggles with good and evil, justice and law, and our ultimate fate.
With this movie Tom Hanks proves why he is one of the all time best male actors that shook the world with their abnormal amazing acting roles.
Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan were wonderful and the supporting cast was fantastic.Based on a serial novel by Stephen King, the Green Mile is about Paul Edgecomb, a officer in charge of prisoners on death row and everything was the same as usual until the day that John Coffey (Clarke Duncan) was brought to the mile.
There is also a lot of irony here with good guys who are evil and bad guys who are good.Director Frank Darabont, who missed out on an Oscar with Shawshank Redemption' (also by Stephen King) to Forrest Gump' must have decided he wasn't going to beaten by Tom Hanks again and secured him for this film with wonderful results.
True, a powerful performance was given by all characters in the film, some roles more than others, but after sitting through 2 of the 3 hours of the movie, I was growing listless and wanting to leave.
Darabont successfully re-creates the dark and brooding atmosphere that was the standard in prisons of that time, although I feel that this movie was a letdown compared to Shawshank.In wanting to get more from the movie, I took the liberty of buying the six book set of The Green Mile, by Stephen King.
I was not surprised from what to expect from this movie.Having  seen Darabont again,i new the result would accomplish my expectations.The film was tender full of hidden messages and all the actors have given the best abilities to the roles.The biggest surprise was Michael Duncan's role as John Coffey, and i think he deserves the second role academy award this year.As for Mr Tom Hanks, the only comment is that all his latest works have all won an Oscar nomination!
Resurrection has the best ending to any movie I have ever seen so Green Mile is in good company.
The Green Mile was a very good movie.
Much superior to "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile" is one of this years best films that relies on great writing with potent acting.
Overall this is some of the finest ensemble acting this year.Tom Hanks has good instincts for picking great roles in very good films and "The Green Mile" shows him at the peak of his career.
I admit I never read the novel,'The Green Mile' and have never really liked many "Stephen King" based movies.