The Green Mile (film)
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| The Green Mile | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for The Green Mile |
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| Directed by | Frank Darabont |
| Produced by | Frank Darabont David Valdes |
| Written by | Novel: Stephen King Screenplay: Frank Darabont |
| Starring | Tom Hanks David Morse Bonnie Hunt Michael Clarke Duncan Barry Pepper James Cromwell Doug Hutchison Sam Rockwell Patricia Clarkson Harry Dean Stanton |
| Music by | Thomas Newman |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Editing by | Richard Francis-Bruce |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. (U.S. Theatrical & worldwide DVD) UIP / Universal (International) |
| Release date(s) | December 10, 1999 |
| Running time | 188 min. |
| Language | English French |
| Budget | $60 million |
| Gross revenue | $286,801,374 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Green Mile is an Academy Award-nominated 1999 American drama film, directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel The Green Mile. The film stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecombe and Michael Clarke Duncan as the 8 foot giant John Coffey.
The movie is primarily about Edgecombe and his life as a corrections officer on Death Row in the 1930s. The movie is told in flashback by the protagonist in a nursing home and follows a string of supernatural and metaphysical events upon the arrival of Coffey, a man convicted, but not proven, of murder.
In the 2000 Academy Awards, the movie was nominated for four awards (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Writing: Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The Green Mile is a story told in flashback by an elderly Paul Edgecombe (played by veteran character actor Dabbs Greer in his final film role) in a nursing home. He tells a friend about the summer of 1935 when he was a corrections officer in charge of Death Row inmates in Louisiana's Cold Mountain Penitentiary. His domain was called "The Green Mile" because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking "the last mile" here, on a stretch of green linoleum. The main feature of the cellblock was "Old Sparky", the electric chair.
One day, a new inmate arrives, John Coffey, a muscular 8 foot tall African-American man convicted of raping and killing two young white girls. Upon being escorted to his cell, he immediately demonstrates a "gentle giant" character--keeping to himself, afraid of the dark and being moved to tears on occasion. Soon enough, Coffey reveals his extraordinary healing powers by healing Edgecombe's urinary tract infection and resurrecting a mouse. Later, he would heal the terminally ill wife of Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell) who had a brain tumour the size of a lemon. Although it is clear that Coffey has a degree of control over his power, when asked to explain it, he merely says that he "took it back."
At the same time, Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison), a violent, sadistic, and potentially mentally ill guard who takes pleasure in intimidating and injuring inmates, exasperates everyone else in the cellblock. He "knows people, big people" (he was the nephew of the governor's wife), in effect preventing Edgecombe or anybody else from doing anything significant to curb his deviant behavior. Wetmore recognizes that the other officers greatly dislike him, and uses that to demand being promoted or managing the next execution. After that, he promises, he will have himself transferred to an administrative post in the Briar Ridge mental hospital, and Edgecombe will never hear from him again. A reluctant agreement is made, but Edgecombe comes to regret it after Wetmore deliberately sabotages the electrocution, inflicting as much pain as possible on Eduard "Del" Delacroix (Michael Jeter), a Cajun inmate who had previously embarrassed him (though even Percy is horrified by the gruesome spectacle of Del's death).
Meanwhile, a violent prisoner named William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell) arrives, due to be executed for multiple murders he committed during a robbery. At one point he seizes Coffey's arm, and Coffey senses that Wild Bill is the true killer of the two girls, the crime for which Coffey was falsely convicted and sent to death row. Coffey then uses his powers to compel Wetmore to empty his handgun into Wild Bill, after which Wetmore falls into a permanent catatonic state. Stunned by these events, Edgecombe queries Coffey, who says he "punished them bad men", then takes Edgecombe's hand and imparts the vision that he saw of what really happened to the girls, a vision that Edgecombe finds nearly unbearable to endure. Wild Bill is dead at Wetmore's hands, and Wetmore ends up as a patient at the very asylum to which he promised Edgecombe he would transfer.
Not withstanding Coffey's incredible abilities and the wrongness of his conviction, he ends up being executed, due in large part to the racism prevalant at the time and place of the story (the movie was set in the Depression-era American South). Another key factor was how Coffey was constantly depressed by all the pain in the world and "how people are always ugly to each other", describing it as "like glass shards in my head, driving me crazy." And therefore refused to have the death sentence overturned. The proper story ends there, and Edgecombe says he subsequently transferred from Death Row to a youth detention center, where he spent the remainder of his career. The story then returns to the present, where Edgecombe explains to his friend why he is able to remember the events of 1935: he is in fact 108 years old and still in excellent health. This is apparently a side effect of the life-giving power of Coffey's touch: a significantly lengthened lifespan. Mr. Jingles, Del's mouse resurrected by Coffey, is also still alive — but Paul believes his outliving all of his relatives and friends to be a punishment from God for having Coffey executed. Mr. Jingles, being a mouse, should only have had a maximum lifespan of 1 or 2 years, yet he has lived for over half a century, so Paul dreads to think how long he himself has left to live, being a human. As he puts it, he has deep thoughts about how "We each owe a death, there are no exceptions, but, oh God, sometimes, the Green mile seems so long."
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Hanks | Paul Edgecombe |
| David Morse | Brutus "Brutal" Howell |
| Bonnie Hunt | Jan Edgecombe |
| Michael Clarke Duncan | John Coffey |
| James Cromwell | Warden Hal Moores |
| Michael Jeter | Eduard "Del" Delacroix |
| Graham Greene | Arlen Bitterbuck |
| Doug Hutchison | Percy Wetmore |
| Sam Rockwell | William "Wild Bill" Wharton |
| Barry Pepper | Dean Stanton |
| Jeffrey DeMunn | Harry Terwilliger |
| Patricia Clarkson | Melinda Moores |
| Harry Dean Stanton | Toot-Toot |
| Dabbs Greer | Old Paul Edgecombe |
| Gary Sinise | Burt Hammersmith |
| Eve Brent | Elaine Connelly |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Paul Edgecombe
The protagonist of the story, Edgecomb is the head corrections officer of a Louisiana Death Row during the 1930s. He narrates the story of his time on the Green Mile in flashbacks. Paul is cured of his urinary infection by John Coffey. Later Coffey shows Paul who the real killer of the girls is and as a result Paul is given the gift of life. He is at his wits' ends with the conniving and abusive officer Percy Wetmore, along with the vexatious "Wild Bill" Wharton.
[edit] John Coffey
Coffey is an enormous black man who arrives on the Mile for raping and killing two young girls. Despite the utter horror of the crime he allegedly committed, Coffey is favored by officers and inmates of the prison because of his incredibly gentle and kind nature, which also begins to make Edgecomb question Coffey's alleged guilt. Towards the end of the story it is revealed that he was innocent and that Wharton was the real perpetrator of the girls' rape and murder. He is afraid of the dark, and his character is akin to one of an innocent child, making the crime he is accused of very unbelievable. He makes little effort to avoid being executed, because he finds difficulty living a world that he considers to be very cruel. Coffey has the super-natural ability to heal others, which he simply refers to as "taking it back". He makes a particularly strong impression on Edgecomb after he cures his urinary tract infection. In a biblical sense he is in reflection of "Jesus Christ", given his initials "JC", healing power and feeling the world's pain.
[edit] Brutus "Brutal" Howell
Second-in-charge of Cold Mountain's Death Row, Brutus Howell, often referred to as "Brutal" by the others, is Paul Edgecomb's closest friend. Despite his intimidating name and imposingly large frame, Brutal is a calm, affable individual, but he does have a temper, which he mostly displays towards Wetmore. Like Edgecomb, Howell comes to accept that Coffey is obviously not guilty of murdering the two children.
[edit] William "Wild Bill" Wharton
William Wharton, who prefers to be known as "Billy the Kid", but is known to the inmates and officers as "Wild Bill", is an extremely hyperactive, mischievous and intimidating inmate — described by the warden as "a problem child". He serves as an antagonist, and was later revealed to be a deranged killer and rapist. According to John Coffey's vision when he made physical contact with Wharton, he worked on the farm where the two girls lived, abducted, raped and murdered them. Wharton is also racist; during the film he repeatedly uses the racial slur "nigger". Near the end, he is shot to death by Percy, to whom a disease was passed on by Coffey.
[edit] Eduard Delacroix
Eduard Delacroix, better known as "Del", is a fairly well-adjusted inmate who becomes a friend of John Coffey. Del discovers a mouse whom he names Mr. Jingles, who becomes his closest friend on death row. He and Wetmore despise each other. Del even laughs at Percy after he is attacked by Wharton. Wetmore later stomps on Mr. Jingles, "killing" it, but the mouse is healed by Coffey. Finally, Del's execution is sabotaged by Wetmore in order to inflict maximum pain on him. The electrocution becomes so extreme and inhumane that even the family of Delacroix's victims are horrified, as is Percy. Some would argue that his death is a reference to the first person ever to be electrocuted, William Kemmler. In the movie he was not killed outright but took a long time for him to die and even caught on fire, much like Kemmler.
[edit] Arlen Bitterbuck
Arlen Bitterbuck is a Native American who was in prison before John Coffey arrived at Cold Mountain. Repentant of what he has done, on the night of his execution he confides in Paul Edgecomb about his belief that, if a person were truly sorry for his sins, he would go to heaven upon his death.
[edit] Percy Wetmore
Wetmore is an abusive, cynical and sadistic corrections officer inside the prison who assaults the inmates. He flaunts the fact that his aunt is married to the state governor, giving him the authority to justify his unruly behavior. He often uses this to his advantage whenever he is assigned an undesirable task by having the state governor call the warden's office to chastise the rest of the staff. Wetmore is tormented by Wild Bill, a serial killer in the prison whom he later murders. The other officers later throw Wetmore into the restraining room, bound in a straitjacket to confine him from witnessing their covert operation of temporarily bringing Coffey out of prison to have him heal the warden's wife, and at the same time, to punish him for sabotaging Eduard Delacroix's execution. They later release Wetmore, coercing him to accept his punishment and not make further complications by reporting the incident. Minutes later, he is grabbed by Coffey, who passes the sickness he absorbed from Moores' wife into him. Now cursed with the disease, he empties his revolver into Wharton, killing him. Wetmore then goes into a permanent, catatonic state. He is placed into a mental health institution which, ironically, is Briar Ridge Mental Hospital, the institution he was applying at for a transfer from Cold Mountain.
[edit] Harold "Hal" Moores
The warden of Cold Mountain Prison, Hal Moores is a friend of the Edgecombs, and his personal life provides much of the drama of the movie. Early on, it was revealed that his wife Melinda had an inoperable brain tumor which was cured when Coffey "took it back" when they snuck him out of E-Block.
[edit] Mr. Jingles
A mouse that initially caused a deal of drama among the inmates and caretakers of E-Block, but was later adopted by Delacroix as a pet. Mr. Jingles was fatally wounded when Percy stomped him, but was miraculously healed by Coffey. The mouse's lifespan was extended as a side-effect of being in Coffey's hand while he was taking in the pain of Del's execution. On Del's execution day the caretakers convinced him that Mr. Jingles was promoted at a Mouse Circus in Souriville, Florida. The mouse was still alive at the time of Edgecomb's telling of the story, but visibly aged with extremely limited mobility.
[edit] Deviations from source material
The Green Mile is, for the most part, faithful to Stephen King's original novel. There are, however, a few slight alterations.
- In the book, the events surrounding John Coffey, take place in 1932. This changes to 1935 for the film.
- The novel is a written story, delivered by the elderly Edgecomb to his fellow nursing home patient, Elaine. Each of the six volumes includes both an entry in the Green Mile story, as well as brief bookend scenes taking place in a modern day nursing home. These scenes included not only Edgecombe's relationship with Elaine, but also his interaction with a sadistic employee, Brad Dolan, who reminds him of Percy Wetmore, his Green Mile co-worker. It is these interactions that cause him to remember 1935, his last year on the Mile. In the film, Brad Dolan is left out completely, and the bookend sequences only take place at the very beginning and end of the movie. Instead of Dolan, it is watching the 1935 film Top Hat that provokes the flashback, and this film is added to the main storyline as well, in which John Coffey's last request is to be able to see a "flicker show" (motion picture) before he is executed.
- In the book, Hal Moores has an assistant named Curtis Anderson. He does not appear in the film, and his lines and scenes are given to Moores instead. Other inmates on the Green Mile in the book who did not have speaking roles, and are inconsequential to the plot, are also omitted.
- The first and second volumes of the book are told out of chronological order. The first book begins with the arrival of Coffey, and provides details of the murder for which he was convicted. At this point in time, inmate Eduard Delacroix already has his pet mouse, Mr. Jingles, and another inmate, Arlen Bitterbuck, has already been executed. The second book goes back in time, to before Coffey is brought in, to explain where Mr. Jingles came from, and who Bitterbuck was. The film re-arranges these events so that Coffey's arrival is the first event to take place, and all others follow it.
- In the book, strong evidence — ignored by the authorities — is presented to the reader of Coffey's innocence in Edgecomb's eyes: for example, the tracking dogs' confusion at the site of the girls' murder, resulting from the murderer and the girls' bodies leaving in different directions. In the movie, however, Coffey grabs Edgecomb's hand and, along with transferring "life" to him, also shows Edgecomb who really killed the two girls.
[edit] Soundtrack listing
| The Green Mile (Original Soundtrack) | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack by Various Artists | ||
| Released | December 14, 1999 | |
| Genre | Soundtrack | |
| Length | 74:15 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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The Green Mile soundtrack contains mostly instrumental pieces scored by Thomas Newman. Below is a listing of the songs (and their track numbers on the CD) that weren't composed by Newman.
- The Two Dead Girls
- The Mouse on the Mile
- Foolishment
- Billy-Be-Frigged
- Coffey's Hands
- Cheek to Cheek - Fred Astaire
- Condemned Man
- Limp Noodle
- Scared of the Dark
- Wild Bill
- Cigar Box
- Circus Mouse
- The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix
- Boy's Eye
- Two Run-Throughs
- Red Over Green
- I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Billie Holiday
- That's the Deal
- L'Homme Mauvais
- An Offense to the Heart
- Morphine & Cola
- Night Journey
- Danger of Hell
- Done Tom Turkey
- Did You Ever See a Dream Walking - Gene Austin
- Trapingus Parish
- Boogeyman
- Shine My Knob
- Briar Ridge
- Coffey on the Mile
- Punishment
- Charmaine - Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
- Now Long Gone
- No Exceptions
- The Green Mile
[edit] Awards and nominations
1999 Academy Awards (Oscars)
- Nominated - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role — Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated - Best Picture — David Valdes, Frank Darabont
- Nominated - Best Sound Mixing — Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick, Willie D. Burton
- Nominated - Best Adapted Screenplay — Frank Darabont
2000 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards)
- Won - Best Supporting Actor (Film) — Michael Clarke Duncan
- Won - Best Supporting Actress (Film) — Patricia Clarkson
- Won - Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
- Nominated - Best Director — Frank Darabont
- Nominated - Best Music — Thomas Newman
2000 BMI Film & TV Awards
- Won - BMI Film Music Award — Thomas Newman
2000 Black Reel Awards
- Won - Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor — Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- Won - Favorite Actor - Drama — Tom Hanks
- Nominated - Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama — Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated - Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama — Bonnie Hunt
2000 Bram Stoker Awards
- Nominated - Best Screenplay — Frank Darabont
2000 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Won - Best Screenplay, Adaptation — Frank Darabont
- Won - Best Supporting Actor — Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated - Best Picture
2000 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated - Best Supporting Actor — Michael Clarke Duncan
- Nominated - Most Promising Actor — Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Directors Guild of America
- Nominated - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures — Frank Darabont
2000 Golden Globe Awards
- Nominated - Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture — Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Image Awards
2000 MTV Movie Awards
- Nominated - Best Breakthrough Male Performance — Michael Clarke Duncan
2000 Motion Picture Sound Editors (Golden Reel Award)
- Nominated - Best Sound Editing - Dialogue and ADR — Mark A. Mangini, Julia Evershade
- Nominated - Best Sound Editing - Effects and Foley — Mark A. Mangini, Aaron Glascock, Howell Gibbens, David E. Stone, Solange S. Schwalbe
- Won - Favorite All-Around Motion Picture
- Won - Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture
2001 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (Nebula Award)
- Nominated - Best Script — Frank Darabont
2000 Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Cast
- Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role — Michael Clarke Duncan
[edit] External links
- Official film website
- The Green Mile at the Internet Movie Database
- The Green Mile at Rotten Tomatoes
