THE GREEN MILE
1999 - USA

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton

- Reviewed by Tom

The Green MileI remember when this movie came out there were mixed reviews from many of the professional movie critics. I was kind of worried that this movie would become one of those where I'd become restless, bored, and squirmy, wondering how much longer I would have to sit before the credits showed up. 

But, hey, we are MOVIEPIE! We are not professional movie critics (at least I'm not) so I shouldn't be influenced by the pros.

The movie is directed by the same guy that did Shawshank Redemption, and it is also a prison movie. I was surprised that the movie was quite good and I enjoyed it. It is a long one, so you may need to pause it if you drink too much Coke while watching—it's just slightly over 3 hours long.  

Tom Hanks plays the lead prison guard in a prison (in 1935 during the Depression) where he watches over death-row prisoners in the E-Block with the green floor ("the green mile").  He is an unusually caring prison guard and doesn't resort to violence until the Governor's kid joins the guards and starts causing lots of problems. The young guard Percy (played by Doug Hutchison—Toomes from The X-Files!) wants to prove that he is a tough guy, so he breaks fingers, intentionally (and quite graphically) screws up an execution, kills small animals, and finally gets punished by the other guards. The main prisoner in the movie is a very large simple man named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) who has the mind of a small child who is afraid of the dark. Later in the movie he demonstrates that he has healing powers. Later on the guards risk their jobs by using him to heal.... Spoiler, can't tell you!

The movie is based on a Steven King story and later in the movie you can really see the King style show through. No, unfortunately King didn't make one of his famous cameo appearances in the movie—at least I didn't see him!

If you are a fan of Tom Hanks' movies, I think this is definitely one not to miss!

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