How does the director of The Shawshank Redemption, a Stephen King story set in a prison, as well as one of the great movies and great movie stories of the 90s, do a follow-up? You film The Green Mile; a six-part Stephen King novel serial set in a prison. And it’s another great movie.
And it’s a movie with a lot of hype surrounding it, not the least of which is the fact that it is Frank Darabont’s first movie since The Shawshank Redemption and second overall. It is also Oscar season and any movie that stars Tom Hanks is going to get attention, especially when it’s as good as this. Hanks is likely to get Best Actor consideration, but like all of his recent films (Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, and even the Meg Ryan films), it’s an ensemble piece and not a single actor is given what, in a lesser film, be called a “thankless role.” Michael Clarke Duncan is memorable as the extraordinary prisoner and could have a nomination come February. All of the prison guards are terrific and even Gary Sinise is terrific in a small cameo. The film also features two of the more memorable S.O.B.'s of the year in the form of prison guard Percy (especially well played by Doug Hutchinson) and prisoner Wild Bill.
All these performances contribute to a story that has layer under layer under layer of meaning without throwing the metaphors in your face. The Green Mile is not trying to sway anyone’s opinions to or from capital punishment like Dead Man Walking, even if the executions seen in this film are the best and arguably most gruesome ever put on film. This is a fable, much the same way last year’s Life is Beautiful was, and I was equally involved in it.
Many people have criticized the length of this film. Clocking in at a little over three hours, some critics have asked why Darabont couldn’t have told this story in a shorter time. Well, any movie can be trimmed, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Trimming The Green Mile would have been a grave injustice, in my opinion, because it certainly would have had a diminishing impact emotionally as well as in entertainment value. I’ve always argued that some films should be longer (if only another 10 or 15 minutes) to add a little more depth to its characters and its situations. Minutes are arbitrary when it comes to movies. It’s how long each minute feels that counts. I’ve sat through multiple theater viewings of films like Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart, but how many could sit through another minute of The Thin Red Line? The only thing that felt long in the film to me was the wrap-around segments involving the old man. And while I was moved in several spots, I was hoping for a bigger emotional payoff in the end.
Minor quibbles aside, The Green Mile plays like a great book. Much attention to paid to detail and to setting up its plot and its characters. A mouse gets more development than most characters in other films. Like the best of movies, The Green Mile knows how to tell a great story, and sometimes it takes an extra hour to tell it. That’s what makes it so good and one of the best films of the year.
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