Directed by:  Frank Darabont
Written by:  Frank Darabont
Based on Stories by:  Stephen King
Starring:  Tom Hanks, Michael Duncan, David Morse, Doug Hutchison, Michael Jeter, James Cromwell
 

December 22, 1999

         Very few Stephen King stories translate well to the big screen.  Most of the ones with supernatural or horror elements are just bad, like Pet Semetary, Sleepwalkers, and Silver Bullet.  The only one that stands out among the bunch is of course The Shining, only because it had visionary director Stanley Kubrick.
        Some of his stories did translate well to the screen like Stand by Me, Misery, and The Shawshank Redemption.  The reason is that these films involved characters the audience could identify with.  Stand by Me is one of the classics from the 80's.  Kathy Bates brought Misery to life.  And Shawshank leads you into the lives of prisoners like we haven't seen before, and concludes with an unforgettable ending.
        Frank Darabont adapted and directed Shawshank, as well as the new film from a Stephen King collection, The Green Mile.  Since both take place in a prison in the past, inevitably they will be compared to each other.  But they shouldn't.
        Running over three hours, The Green Mile isn't worthy to be brought to the big screen.  First of all, it's from six separate volumes of a book, and I can tell from the film Darabont didn't know what to concentrate on.  The part with the mouse is fun at first, but it drags on for too long.  Then we don't get to the heart of the story, the story about John Coffey, until at least the second hour.
        The one aspect that's interesting is that Paul Edgecomb (Hanks) and his fellow guards are not the stereotypical inmate hating guards, except for of course Percy Wetmore (Hutchison), who is there to bring out the others.  This could have worked well for the film, except that we don't get into their personal lives enough to really care for them.  Just like in Saving Private Ryan where we're supposed to care about Tom Hank's character because his hand jitters, here we're supposed to care about his character because of his prostate problems.  In both films, it isn't enough to humanize him.
        The Green Mile is an agonizing three hours to sit through in the theater.  The only character who makes the film worth watching is John Coffey, and that is because Michael Duncan brings him to life with his performance.  The supernatural aspects of the film don't really work because it takes so long to get to them.  And the ending, or the big secret, is just too coincidental.  This could have possibly worked as a miniseries on TV, so we could have some breaks to cut down on the pain.

Recommended Alternatives:  The Shawshank Redemption (d: Darabont), Escape from Alcatraz

-Reviewed in Theater-

Nominated for
3 Fidelio Film Awards

Winner of
1 Fidelio Film Award