I saw The Green Mile last night. It's a Stephen King
story, and I emphasize the word story. He obviously likes a good
yarn. Like Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption,
GM is not a horror tale.
The movie is set in a Lousiana death row unit. Tom Hanks and
David Morse head up the crew, and they try to run their unit with
a degree of politeness and efficiency, to the point that excuses
are made to get an inmate out of the cell block so that
rehearsals can be held for his inpending execution.
A black man is sent to the unit for the murder of two small
girls. He has special powers, and in the words of Hank's
character, is a "gift from God." A young guard, with
family connections to the Governor's wife, harasses the inmates
and defies the almost familial atmosphere of the unit. BTW, the
actor who played the southern sniper in Saving Private Ryan
is one of the prison guards.
GM is a fable. Lots of magical realism with healings and
electric lights blowing up from the spiritual intensity of the
inmate with special flowers. Hanks brings his trademark measured
decency to his role. It's nice to see Morse play a good guy --
I've liked him since he was on St. Elsewhere as the "in
over his head" intern. Michael Jeeter plays a cajun inmate
who is impossible to understand, but has a charming pet mouse
named Mr. Jingles.
This movie lasts a long time. It has a weeper ending.
Actually, it has two or three weeper endings. It has the feel of
a studio movie and would have gotten more attention in a
different year.
