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Helping Karl
Death Row on the Silver Screen
American-Statesman
November 2004
The Green Mile
Besides its mystic main plot, the movie offers ample comic relief, such as that mouse, or in the discreet depiction of a bedroom marathon between two spouses whose sexual problems have been remedied by Coffey's magic hands. Darabont doesn't shy from the horror, either.
The movie's gross-out centerpiece is a suspensefully built scene of an electrocution-gone-wrong that sends witnesses scrambling in panic. (It may also make some viewers reconsider their stand on the death penalty.)
The movie's secret weapon is an impeccable cast. Hanks provides his patented everyman charm, while Duncan, Jeter and Rockwell all do sharp work. James Cromwell is touching as the warden, trying to manage his jail while coping with personal tragedy. And Bonnie Hunt, usually tapped as comic relief ("Jerry Maguire"), provides a lived-in sexiness that elevates her small role as Paul's supportive wife.
Even the tiny roles are superbly cast. Gary Sinise turns up for one scene as a lawyer. Graham Greene has a blink-or-miss-him part as another prisoner, while Harry Dean Stanton steals scenes as a crusty trusty. Patricia Clarkson appears as Cromwell's fading, ill wife, a far cry from her standout turn as a German junkie in "High Art."
Is "The Green Mile" a work of art? Not really. But it's a superior piece of manufacturing, meticulously crafted, absorbing and beautifully acted. Folks are gonna love it. Like most of King's books (even the ones that scare the trousers off you), it's resolutely square at heart.
And it's deeply satisfying, even when you know it's all a bunch of hokum.Steve Murray
Cox News Service
23rd November 2004
