The Green Mile (1999)

Director: Frank Darabont

Writers: Frank Darabont, based on the novel by Stephen King

Cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Jeffrey DeMunn, Barry Pepper, Doug Hutchinson, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell

The story unfolds in a Death Row ward in the 30s, where a giant black inmate who has been convicted of killing two little white girls (Michael Clarke Duncan) is delivered into the care of supervisor Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) and his staff of decent, hard-working prison guards (David Morse, Jeffrey DeMunn, Barry Pepper). 

It soon becomes clear that this inmate is not what he seems and that the Green Mile (so named for its green floor tiles) has become the unlikely setting for a time of miracles and wonder that will deeply affect everyone involved. 

Many of the plot elements are predictable (for example, I could guess almost everything that would happen to the mouse, Mr. Jingles, as soon as he appeared on screen, and I knew how the whole sub-plot with the warden's wife would develop). 

However, this did not ruin the movie for me.

 

I didn't foresee the outcome of Paul's story, which ends the film on a perfectly melancholy and elegiac note. 

In addition, the film is so well-made and the cast was so perfectly chosen that, even when I knew what was going to happen, I looked forward to seeing how it would play out in the hands of writer/director Frank Darabont and his wonderful cast. 

I can't end this review without mentioning the amazing performance of Doug Hutchinson as the vile, aptly named Percy Wetmore.