The Green Mile Review
by "Rose 'Bams' Cooper" (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)December 13th, 1999
'3 Black Chicks Review...'
The Green Mile (1999)
Rated R; running time 188 minutes
Genre: Drama
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120689
Official site: http://www.thegreenmile.com/
Written by: Frank Darabont (based on the novel by Stephen King) Directed by: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Doug Hutchison, Michael Jeter, James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey DeMunn, Barry Pepper, Harry Dean Stanton, Patricia Clarkson, Graham Greene, Dabbs Greer, Eve Brent, Gary Sinise
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsgreen.html
Wow. Awesome. Wonderful. Excellent. Speechless.
Wow.
The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**):
Set in 1935 Louisiana, "The Green Mile" revolves around a few good men (and a couple'a scoundrels, a Chick or two, and a mouse) caught up in a bad situation.
In Louisana's Cold Mountain State Penitentiary, Corrections Officer Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), along with his fellow guards Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Harry Terwilleger (Jeffrey DeMunn), and Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), are responsible, with the help of trustee inmate Toot-Toot (Harry Dean Stanton), for preparing Death Row inmates to walk the Last Mile (called the Green Mile here because of the green-colored floor tiles) to "Old Sparky"--the electric chair. Inmates Eduard "Del" Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene) are joined by "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell), an vile inmate who Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell) describes as a "problem child", and John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a magnificently large man accused of raping and killing two young girls--and in a study of contrasts, Coffey is brought in to Death Row's E-block by Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), a small (in every way) man whose sense of self-worth is achieved solely through his connections to the state governor. Edgecomb and his crew's task of leading the inmates to their death, as calmly as possible, is hindered by Percy's small-mindness - but Coffey has a special gift that will play a significant role in all of their lives (not to mention the life of a wee rodent...)
The Upshot:
Wow. But I said that already.
I prepared myself for "The Green Mile" keeping a few things in mind from what I've read about the movie in the trade mags, and saw in various trailers: first, that the character John Coffey was a big ("huge", actually, fits better) Black man accused of rape and murder in the South of the 1930's--which is to say, there'd likely be plenty for me to write about in the "Black Factor"; second, that there was some conceptual "magic" involved in the story (which meant that my Suspension Of Disbelief bar would have to be raised a bit); and third, that I'd probably want to go to the bathroom beforehand, since at 3 hours and 15 minutes (with trailers), it'd be a long stretch. Armed with the knowledge of these things, and that this flick is based on horror novelist Steven King's novella, I went in prepared for anything to happen. And came out awed.
Reminiscent of King's previous against-the-grain work, "The Shawshank Redemption", TGM lived up to its hype, and then some. The protagonists in each--Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in "Shawshank", Hanks and Duncan here--have similar roles to play in each others' lives; and though "Shawshank" was more about the prisoners than "Mile", they both reflected excellently on how prison affects the guards as well as the guarded. (As an aside, I had the privilege of watching both "Shawshank" and "Mile" with a Corrections Officer--my husband, Bear--and was heartened by his saying that he tries to be the kind of guard that Paul was; though "The Green Mile" was a fable, the idea that the kind of guard that Percy was--a troublemaker who could only be strong if others were weak--was not someone to be emulated, wasn't lost on either of us).
The performances were outstanding; there was hardly a missed note from any of the actors. Of the three leads that are normally bandied about, Hanks was as Oscar-worthy as he has been in the past, playing a man whose pain goes deeper, much deeper, than the physical ailment from which he suffers (man, it's hard to believe that this is the same actor from TV's "Bosom Buddies", eh?); Hutchison made me want to pimp-slap Percy every time I saw him (which is to say, Hutchinson did his job well); and if Duncan doesn't get a nomination from this, There Is No Justice In Hollywood (yeah, I know; I'm just sayin'); who says that Big Men can't act?
But the "secondary" characters and actors don't get enough props for their roles in this flick, so let me remedy that here. As I said in my review "Crazy In Alabama", David Morse is one of the most underrated actors in the business; neither acquiesent nor living up to his moniker, Brutal had my attention in every scene he was in, and it's a tribute to Morse's acting skills that he was more than able to hold his own against the Powerhouse Three that are Hanks, Duncan and Hutchison. DeMunn and Pepper blended more into the background, but that's pretty much where their characters should've been; Cromwell, like Morse, is an extraordinary character actor, and his warden, grieving over the illness of his wife Melinda (Patricia Clarkson) showed a more tender side of Cromwell than he usually plays (Clarkson, on the other hand, just on this side of hammy; fortunately, we didn't see her for long). Michael Jeter, as creole inmate Delacroix, was interesting though a little annoying; Green's Bitterbuck was barely there; having only a few lines, maybe his performance mostly wound up on the cutting-room floor; but the inmate to watch was the villainous (though amusing at times) Wild Bill. Whoever came up with the term "over-the-top", must've had Sam Rockwell in mind; but "over-the-top" was what Wild Bill called for, and Rockwell delivered.
As Jan Edgecomb, Bonnie Hunt once again added a playful quietness to a supporting-wife role, that matched Hanks' Paul Edgecomb nearly perfectly (the picnic scene with their knowing glances, was nice to see with someone I've shared such glances with); and nearly stealing the show was Harry Dean Stanton as Toot-Toot. Besides the creepiness of the actor sharing a name with one of the characters, Toot-Toot was a riot ("still prayin' down here!"). And though he was in a blink-and-you'll-almost-miss-it cameo, Gary Sinise, Hanks' co-star from "Forrest Gump", makes an appearance as Coffey's lawyer (court-appointed?) Burt Hammersmith, that, had it been dragged out, would've impacted negatively on the believability of the story.
All that said, I'm glad I waited until this morning to write my review (I watched it late last night, and was exhausted, but gladly so, when I finally got home); the passage of time gave me a chance to reflect more objectively on it, which allowed me to recognize some flaws that I all but ignored last night. Length aside, "Mile" did lay the mystical/spiritual nature of Coffey on pretty thick; I haven't read King's book, but one couldn't help but notice The Point that was being driven home, especially in the scene where Coffey holds Edgecomb hands to "share a piece of himself" with Edgecomb. Building on to this, the weakest link in the movie was the flash-forward to Old Paul (played by Dabbs Greer, reportedly because Tom Hanks didn't look right in Old Folks makeup); if we hadn't gotten The Point from Coffey and young Edgecomb, Old Paul made sure we did, with his speech to Elaine (Eve Brent). It's too bad that this was included; it provided unnecessary foreground noise that distracted from the story, told well enough in the timeframe of the 1930s.
But that was a minor hiccup; the body of the film played just fine. So fine that, if I can ever block out 188 minutes of my time for it, I plan on seeing it again. Can't think of a better recommendation than that.
The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]:
It takes a strong Black man, secure in his Blackness and acting capabilities, to agree to play what on the surface appears to be a "simple nigra"; but Michael Clarke Duncan (a former ditch digger; "Entertainment Weekly" did a six-part spread on "The Green Mile" that is good reading for a lot of background details on the movie and its cast and crew) was wise enough to know that Coffey needed to be played exactly as he played him. Coffey's humbleness belayed an inner strength that was felt by all the characters--yes, even the vile ones; and unless I miss my guess, that was no accident of acting on Duncan's part. Good for him, I say.
Further, the idea that TGM was Yet Another "White man redeems the pitiful pathetic Black man" film, is dispelled not long into the movie; in fact, the opposite is more accurate. So to those who saw it and tripped out on his "yassuh boss" acting, remember the times and the character that Duncan was playing, and talk to someone that was from the South in the 1930s to see if his characterization was on the money or not. And to those who haven't seen it and are still trippin', go see it, or hush up.
Bammer's Bottom Line:
I liked this quote from Jim "Chante" Hill so much, I asked him if I could use it here:
"If you crank out as many books as [Steven King] has, you're bound to get a good one every now and again. 'Mile' is excellent, because like 'Shawshank' it is not a traditional horror movie but is rather an exploration of the good and the evil in man, cast in stark relief by the confines of prison."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
"The Green Mile" (rating: greenlight)
A green light for "The Green Mile". Seems apropos, no?
3 Black Chicks...Movie Reviews With Flava! /~\
Rose "Bams" Cooper /','\ 3BlackChicks Enterprises /','`'\ Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999 /',',','/`, EMAIL: [email protected] ICQ: 7760005 `~-._'c / http://www.3blackchicks.com/ `\ ( http://www.dealpilot.com/?partner=1987 /====\
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