Review: The Green Mile

In 1935, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) was the Death Row head guard in the E block of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary. A married man with two grown kids, he supervises the executions of the inmates and works alongside Brutus Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), Harry Terwilliger (Jeffrey DeMunn), and the particularly sadistic but well-connected Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison).

In the summer of an especially discomfiting urinary tract infection, Paul encounters John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). Coffey is no ordinary prisoner, you see. Though his seven-foot stature and hulking build lend credence to his crime of raping and murdering two little blonde girls, his gentleness negates that image. Beyond that, Coffey possesses a most unusual power - the power, it seems, to heal and restore. Paul first witnesses Coffey's powers when Coffey grabs him by the crotch - the prison bulbs brighten, a strange glow occurs -- and when Coffey lets go of Paul, he coughs out a hail of dust particles. When Paul asks what he did, Coffey replies, "I just took it back."

Coffey, unlike the other inmates, may actually be innocent. The girls' father (an effective Willam Sadler) and his hunting party found Coffey on the ground, the two little girls, lifeless and their hair matted with blood, on either side of him. Coffey was wailing and said, "I couldn't help it. I tried to take it back but it was too late." Whatever happens, it will always be too late for Coffey and for a black man who has forever been on the run, perhaps being too late is the only way out.

Clarke Duncan, a former bouncer who last appeared in Armageddon, resembles a walking boulder - the immensity of his bulk is undoubtedly impressive, especially when in proximity to the other actors. Clarke Duncan nails the tenderness from the moment the camera settles on his face. "Do you leave the light on after bedtime?" he asks Paul. Because Coffey is scared of the dark, especially if it's a strange place. By film's end, audiences should mirror the onscreen guards with their love and admiration for this gentle giant.

Coffey is not the only inmate of note in the E block. There is a brief and seemingly unnecessary appearance by Graham Greene as a Native American convict who is the first to die in Old Sparky, the electric chair. Then there are Del (Michael Jeter), who has adopted the house mouse, Mr. Jingles, and William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell), a wholly unpredictable killer who takes delight in pushing the buttons of the guards and his fellow prisoners. Both engage in a power struggle with Percy, who enjoys wielding his position though not always to his benefit. As played by Hutchison, Percy is a villain who is mean because of his own inferiority. With his connections behind him, he feels he can do no wrong. Or rather, he can do all the wrong he wants but never pay the consequences. One of the film's most horrifying passages involves Percy's deliberate sabotaging of an execution so that more pain will be inflicted upon the inmate. When he smells the flesh burning and sees the suffering, Percy knows he's gone too far but his reflex to cover his misstep is stronger than his need for penance.

Frank Darabont, who adapted and directed a superb cinematic mounting of Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption, breathes beautiful life into King's The Green Mile, which was originally published in six installments. As with The Shawshank Redemption, he translates the mystical realism of King's tale without sacrificing the psychological horror or wit. Even more impressive in my book is the performance he's coaxed out of Hanks. There is no doubt that Hanks is one of our finest actors today but I've often bristled at the overall effect of his performances. His iconic status has hallowed his portrayals - it's as if he can't do anything but show the "amber waves of grain" side of America. Yet here, more so than in Saving Private Ryan, the flaws allowed in his character are carried with humanity. The humanity is not the type to be revered but empathized with, sometimes to be laughed at. A scene like Paul finally taking a painless piss is made poetic by the look on Hanks' face.

Hanks, along with his fellow actors, demonstrate that it is in man's ability to inflict various degrees of cruelty and that a man need not be a prisoner to be capable of the most unspeakable malice.

The Green Mile

Directed by: Frank Darabont

Written by: Frank Darabont; adapted from the novel by Stephen King

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