The Green Mile (Film Review)

1999 Warner Bros.
Written and Directed by: Frank Darabont (Based on The Green Mile by Stephen King)
Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, and Harry Dean Stanton
Running Time: 189 Minutes; MPAA Rating: R
The Nicsperiment Score: 10/10

Death row supervising officer, Paul Edgecomb, is suffering a physical as well as spiritual malaise. He has a paralyzing bladder infection, but he's also ailing from the subconscious pain of consistently putting people to death for the state. For better or worse, a new slate of death row inmates have entered the Green Mile, the nickname for the green-tiled aisle of cells he and his cadre of officers supervise that leads to the electric chair. First there's the quiet, yet introspective Arlen Bitterbuck. Then, there's the meek, yet kindly Cajun, Eduard "Del" Delacroix. There's also the sadistic and unhinged Wild Bill. Finally, there's one of the more recent arrivals, John Coffey (like the drink, only not spelled the same), a mountain of a man who, despite the heinous crimes of which he's accused, is scared of the dark, and cries himself to sleep every night. But something is different...vastly different about Coffey. After Coffey mysteriously heals Edgecomb's bladder infection and resurrects Del's crushed mouse, Paul and his crew suddenly realize that Coffey might not just be a miracle of God, but an innocent man...an innocent man they must put to death
There might be a more powerful film than 1999's The Green Mile, but I haven't seen it. My sold out theater audience in 1999 sobbed like newborn babies throughout the film's final ten minutes, and from my seat, this then 18-year-old cried for the first time while watching a film. The weight of that moment was so heavy, I refused to watch the film again for the last 25 years, until, last month for its 25th anniversary, my 90s movies podcast covered the film. I watched The Green Mile three times in preparation for that podcast episode, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Maybe it's all the pain and suffering I've witnessed in real life in that span of time. Maybe it's all the real life death I've experienced, including those of some of my peers and closest friends. Crying in a movie doesn't feel so bad anymore.
The Green Mile is expertly directed and expertly adapted by Frank Darabont from Stephen King's source novellas. I wish Frank Darabont truly enjoyed that process. The three films he has written and directed are among the greatest ever made in my lifetime and a genuine argument can be made that Darabont is among the greatest living directors in 2025, even if he hasn't made a film in 18 years. Every shot, every line of dialogue, every spark and shaft of light that hits the screen feels like the work of a master technician and his crew of magicians. But this is not an empty showing of technique. The FEELING that Darabont is able to stuff into each frame is unrivaled. King's original story is a weird tale, featuring unexpected narrative shifts and bleak moral quandaries from which there seems to be no escape. The final act of this film is absolutely hopeless, HOPELESS, destitute, broken, and yet the film is made with such warmth, empathy, and skill, The Green Mile feels like an old friend, or a grandparent's aging home that brings constant, reliable comfort. And yet that final, brutally answered question: What happens when good men have to knowingly commit a heinously evil act still resounds. 1999 is the greatest year in cinema, and The Green Mile, coming that December as 1999s consummate denouement, is the capstone.