Review of The Green Mile (1999) by Adam S — 03 Jul 2014

A sort of spiritual sequel to 1994's brilliant "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile" is another prison drama written and directed by Frank Darabont, based off another story by Stephen King.

However, while on the face of it, the two films seem remarkably similar, they are complete worlds apart when it comes to drama. Yes, they both focus on a man wrongfully accused by the court of law, and give an insight to life and death behind iron bars, but beyond that, they both tell two, brilliant, stories.

This particular film sees Tom Hanks star as a Depression era prison guard in a death row prison complex, who is confronted when an inmate is brought to the prison who shows a remarkable ability to heal others. This role is brought to life incredibly well by Michael Clarke Duncan, and was probably deserving of an Oscar (with all due respect to Michael Caine).

Taking a story that deals with the unfairness of life, and the finality of death, is no easy task, and there's no happy ending for Duncan's character, as with Andy DuFresne in Shawshank. But with a moving screenplay and brilliant supporting acts from the likes of David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton and Gary Sinise, amongst others, this movie becomes a delight to watch, with it's 3 hour runtime pouring out the door along with all of your tears.

An incredibly moving experience. 5 stars.