The Green Mile: Movie Review

"The Green Mile" is the nickname given to the Coal Mountain Louisiana State Penitentiary's death row. This story, which unfolds primarily within those walls, is told almost entirely in flashback, with a pair of short, modern-day sequences book ending the epic-length account of events from 1935. By approaching things in this manner, Darabont remains true to the novel's structure, but this proves to be a weakness. In addition to recalling another Tom Hanks movie, Saving Private Ryan, the bookends have a tacked-on feel and the "payoff" is neither surprising nor rewarding.

The narrator and main character is Paul Edgecomb (Hanks), the head guard of The Green Mile. Four others work with him - his best friend, Brutus Howell (David Morse); the handsome and somewhat impetuous Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper); the veteran Harry Terwilleger (Jeffrey DeMunn); and the newcomer, a sadist and coward named Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) (Mendez 23-56). Percy has a promotion to a desk job at a mental institution waiting for him - he's only on the Mile so he can see an execution. Paul would dearly like to get rid of him, but Percy has highly placed connections and cannot be transferred until he submits a request.

A new inmate, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), has come to The Green Mile, joining the two who are already awaiting signed death warrants. They are a Cajun named Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and a Native American, Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene). John is a giant of a man, but he is quiet, simpleminded, and surprisingly docile - surprising considering the shocking crime he was arrested for - the brutal murder of two little girls. While Percy delights in tormenting the prisoners, both new and old, Paul and the other guards form tentative bonds with them. And, because of that, ...