Review of The Green Mile (1999) by Anthony K — 04 Jan 2018

Ughhhhhhhhhhh. Just as schlocky, sappy, and easily digestible a prison film as Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile does at least sport a typically excellent performance from Tom Hank, who is a presence Tim Robbins just cannot touch. That saves The Green Mile from being a TOTAL disaster, I think.

Aside from that, it's incredibly obvious at all times (John Coffey = JC = Jesus Christ), with probably the most egregious use of a magical black man in any film ever. Not just that, but one who speaks in a ridiculous Sambo speech pattern (I's never done seen a picture show, boss).

We also once again get maybe the worst Stephen King trope of them all: a prisoner falsely accused, somehow ends up getting interned alongside the person who really committed the murder, and some contrivance allows them to actually find that out somehow. Compare that to the approach of something like Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri (also a Sam Rockwell film, though he's overacting so much less there) and its "no easy answers" narrative, you can see why this one just comes off like...shlock.