To be quite honest, this film never really appealed to me to begin with. I don’t tend to pay much attention to trailers at the cinema, or to commercials on television for that matter. Debi (my wonderful girlfriend) watched the advert for ’The Green Mile’ with avid interest and appeared more determined to enjoy the film with every day that passed. Here I am then, settling down on a Monday evening, to three hours (and I never watch a film for that amount of time) of what I am hoping is at least some ’satisfactory’ drama. I shall say now that even though it becoming an old movie, I don’t like to tell that much of the plot, as it spoils it for those who may decide to watch it after reading this.
The film opens with a, for want of a better word, sad slow motion sequence of a very distressed man, from the nineteen thirties, searching for someone. He finds a torn piece of what looks like a dress, hanging on small bush. The music at this point is what is most important, sombre. It sets the atmosphere for the rest of the feature, especially with it being the only sound that can be heard. Following this short scene, the plot then moves to the present day, focussing on an old man in a retirement home. The manis troubled by something terrible from his past, and eventually begins to tell the story to a close friend, and to us, the viewer.
This is where we move to the bulk of the movie. Say for the next two hours or so, the film is back into the nineteen thirties, basing itself around a Death Row prison block, know as ’The Green Mile’ in Louisiana, and our story teller who surprisingly enough, is an awful lot younger than a few moments ago. He is Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), and he is the head warden in a small group of officers who look after criminals who have been sentenced to have their life terminated. His experience is always at the front of his personality, demonstrating his wisdom and to an extent, his compassion. From what we can gather, most of his life in the prison has been without strife or interest, which is until we meet one of the best aspects of the film.
Enter John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a man mountain with very little in the way of intelligence, and an inane fear of the dark (which Debi thought was very sweet considering the man is eight feet tall, and very nearly just as wide). The film is worth seeing just for this guy, it said on the back of the DVD that Duncan was nominated for an Oscar, I would like to know why he didn’t get it. The connection between Coffey and Edgecomb is outstanding, sure the other people in the movie are very good indeed, but the way that the main two characters interact throughout the entire film is simply breathtaking. Taking into account just how little Coffey actually speaks, he has an on-screen presence that draws you in effortlessly, and throws your emotions just about anywhere you can imagine. Almost every time you see him, he has a little tear in his eye, and a look about him suggesting the weight of the world on his shoulders.
As I said before, without giving away too much of the plot, certain occurances happen which affect Edgecomb’s perception (and the other guards for that matter) about John and the special connection he has with ’most’ of the people he meets. This results in Paul doubting why John is on the Mile, and also parts of himself.
Of course, Coffey and Edgecomb are not the only characters in the film. There are one or two more inmates, especially Dell, with his combination of French and loose English. Even though they are on Death Row, they still manage to gain the sympathy you could argue that they deserve. Then there are the rest of the guards, including Brutus (big but sympathetic), all with the compassion that Edgecomb has taught them, with the exception of one. Percy is an arrogant little parasite, who happens to have friends (I should really say relatives) in very high places and he knows it too. Gradually he takes the limits of his colleagues and stretches them until they snap. The contempt for him surely grow, in and outside of the screen, but with Percy only really to sub plots (of which I will not talk about), it works itself out as each part of the story comes to a close.
The whole film epitomises virtually every emotion that you may care to wave a stick at. There will definitely be a moment somewhere in this film when you will be challenged with whatever feeling you want, but if you enjoyed this as much as I did, you will certainly be better off for it. The photography is not particularly spectacular and the soundtrack is basically musical score with a few mellow songs straight from the era, but the whole experience works and works wonders. The presentation doesn’t need fancy special effects (there are a few small things, but nothing to write home about, but still very apt) or music from the most arrogant pop star at the time, it relies on the story and the tremendous acting which makes this film so very, very good. It is just one of the films which invites you to truly be a part of what is going on, making you shout at the screen just before something is about to happen. I was unbelievably happy to have watched it when it was over, but I was still a bit choked up. I have to admit that the tears did indeed run down my cheek (cue Debi with the tissues), even though it was for the best(still not going to give the game away).
Finally for Mr Jingles. Ir is indeed a rare sight, when a mouse has more acting ability than the entire cast of some other films that I have seen. I would not like to stake my life on it, but if every shot of Mr Jingles was a real mouse, regardless of how many mice they used, the intelligence quotient was bigger than Ben Nevis (which is pretty big for a mouse). Some of the best moments in the film involve that little star, who has a lot of guts.
If I can jst say one more point on the matter. I honestly do believe that this film is so good, I noe have new favourite. I had better go and change one of my other opinions, yes?