The Green Mile

In 1996, Stephen King released The Green Mile, a novel split into six different chapter books as a way of experimenting with publication in the same way Charles Dickens did back in the day. Each month, a new part of the story was released in a relatively short paperback, selling for $2.99 apiece, with the final, longer part going for $3.99. This meant that a typical book that would have sold for $7.99 back then cost readers $18.94 instead. This was a steep price for a single story, and, while people bought these chapter books up anyway, Stephen King has yet to repeat the experiment. 

Those who read that book in this fashion, forced to spread it out over the course of six months, were treated to an experience unlike anything else King had published up to that point: a story with heart, tragedy, magic, and some truly unforgettable characters. One such reader, Frank Darabont, who had previously helmed another Stephen King story, The Shawshank Redemption, realized almost immediately that he wanted to make this his next project. The problem was that he was reading an advance copy of the first book, and Stephen King hadn’t finished writing all of the rest yet. Still, Darabont felt strongly enough about what he had read that he tracked down Stephen King in Colorado, where the author was busy filming a television miniseries, just to get a firm commitment to sell him the rights to The Green Mile. The rights were agreed upon, the books were completed, and three years later, The Green Mile was rolling into theaters and into the hearts of many who were able to get past the bleak setting and into a story that seemed designed for Oscar gold. 

That last didn’t happen, though. While The Green Mile was nominated for four Oscars, Frank Darabont was left off for director, and it lost in every category it was up for. That was the year for American Beauty, a film that has not held up nearly as well over the years in large part due to lead actor Kevin Spacey’s controversies and the film’s unfortunate subject matter in relationship to Spacey. The gimmee in The Green Mile was just too fantastical for Oscar voters too, and, despite having one of the most tear-inducing finales in cinematic history, the film ultimately fell on deaf ears. It had its fans, but most people felt it barely made the Best Picture list and had no chance of winning. 

The story mostly takes place in 1935 on death row at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary in Louisiana. Corrections officer Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is the supervisor over death row, called The Green Mile after the lime green floor on the block. Alongside him are officers Brutus Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), Harry Terwilliger (Jeffrey DeMunn), and the malicious and hated Percy Whetmore (Doug Hutchison), who has connections with the state governor that shield him from repercussions for his sadistic acts. 

Into this environment comes John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a massive African American who has been tried and convicted of the rape and murder of two little girls. He was found holding their bloody bodies while crying “I couldn’t help it. I tried to take it back, but it was too late.” Coffey is sentenced to death and is joining two other death row inmates: Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene). Soon afterwards, a fourth death row inmate is added to the mix, the wild and uncontrollable William “Wild Bill” Wharton (Sam Rockwell). 

Paul is suffering from a severe bladder infection and, when Wild Bill is brought in, a scuffle ensues, and Paul takes a knee to the groin, virtually incapacitating him. John Coffey calls him over to his cell, grabs him, and, using some sort of magic power Paul doesn’t understand, heals him of the infection, taking it into himself and coughing it back out in the form of tiny flying bugs. Astonished, Paul goes home that evening and cannot deny that he is completely healed. He begins to read up on Coffey’s conviction and doesn’t believe he is guilty after all. 

From there, the story goes through the executions of Bitterbuck and Delacroix, the latter of which Percy insists on being up front for his own sadistic reasons. Eventually, though, Coffey’s turn comes up, and Paul and his fellow guards have to make a difficult decision: Do they put one of God’s miracles to death, knowing in their hearts that he is innocent? All of them, except for Percy, has witnessed him heal someone, and there is no doubt in their minds that he is an innocent man. But they are helpless in overturning the results of the trial. Plus, John Coffey himself is tired of feeling the evils of the world all the time and is ready to die, ready to be at peace. But Paul fears for his very soul if he goes through with the execution. 

This is a brilliant piece of fiction that has some obvious parallels with Christianity; John Coffey’s initials are one of the most obvious parts to that. Coffey is the innocent man to be put to death for sins that he did not commit. He is a miracle worker, able to cure people with the laying on of hands. This is a pure allegory at its roots and not a subtle one.

Frank Darabont, who also wrote the screenplay, has elected not to give us any information on why Delacroix or Bitterbuck are on death row, something that Stephen King gave us in the book. Because of this, we are naturally sympathetic towards their characters rather than appalled by their past actions. On top of that, it makes us more repelled by their execution scenes where Darabont refuses to cut away and soften the impact of them. In the film, Bitterbuck seems like a quiet, peaceful sort of person and Delacroix is just goofy and very Cajun. Without the key information of what landed them on death row, all we can judge them by is what is on screen.  Delacroix, in particular, has a very brutal death, thanks to the malicious actions of Percy, who sabotaged the execution to make sure it was as painful as possible. 

Very early on we hear about Warden Moores (James Cromwell) and his terminally ill wife, Melinda (Patricia Clarkson). It doesn’t take a genius to predict where this plot point is leading to. It’s an obvious moment in the book that this film has inherited and there is just no good way to include it without giving it away almost immediately. That doesn’t diminish the scene, though, when Paul and his fellow guards break John Coffey out of prison just long enough to pay Melinda a visit. There is a lot of build up to this moment and where it terminates is a bit of a surprise, but the event itself is heavily telegraphed.

While the miracles themselves are meant to be the emotional core of this film, the way they are presented lessens their impact a little. We see a blinding light, usually coming from John Coffey’s hands but sometimes going into his mouth, then he coughs up these flying insects representing the illness. It’s a stunning visual but it also is just weird enough that it takes you out of the moment. This strange visual kept certain audiences at bay and made this film less accepted than The Shawshank Redemption despite having a stronger, more tear-inducing finale. It gives the film originality but also can pull you out of the drama if you are not prepared for it. 

The Green Mile is long, perhaps a full half hour too long for this kind of story. But it makes up for it with a decent amount of humorous moments including the inclusion of Mr. Jingles, a mouse that Delacroix adopts that can do tricks. But these moments are tempered by scenes of pure cruelty on the part of Percy, who lashes out at everyone to the point where it would seem that, connections or no connections, he would have been removed from his job a long time ago. This being the 1930s, though, perhaps he would have been able to act that way without repercussions. There is also a great sadness to this film surrounding the death row inmates, Wild Bill excluded, where we empathize with them and don’t want to see them killed. These clashing emotions would seem to be at odds with each other but Frank Darabont intermixes them to perfection. 

I challenge anyone to watch the ending of this film and remain dry-eyed. It plays up on those themes of Christianity and sacrifice well. It also bookends the film, unnecessarily, with an aged Paul Edgecomb (played by Dabbs Greer) not only relaying his story to another person, but adding one last magical element to the picture, one that Paul feels he is cursed with as a punishment for killing one of God’s miracles. These bookend scenes are unnecessary and don’t really add much to the story. Still, this is an emotional powerhouse of a film and really brought to the forefront a talented performer, Michael Clarke Duncan, who died way too young. This film is his legacy and the best he has ever been on the screen. He deserved the Oscar for this, though it ultimately didn’t happen. 

Academy Award Nominations: 

Best Picture: David Valdes and Frank Darabont

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Michael Clarke Duncan

Best Adapted Screenplay: Frank Darabont

Best Sound: Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick, and Willie D. Burton

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Release Date: December 10, 1999

Running Time: 189 Minutes

Rated R

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

Directed by: Frank Darabont