The Green Mile

The Green Mile released in 1999 was a film adaptation of Stephen Kings 1996 serial novels of the same name (later published as a single novel). The story revolves around Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) who is the supervising officer of the death row in 1935, which is affectionately referred to as the Green Mile, because of it's green floor. Edgcomb along with his subordinate officers Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Billy Pepper), Harry (Jeffery DeMunn), and the easy to hate Percy Whetmore (Doug Huchinson), are working the night that they admit a new prisoner named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) who despite has intimidating size, seems gentle and dimwitted. From the very beginning Paul feels that there is something different and special about John Coffey. Later he found out that Coffey has supernatural power to heal people and begins to question if he is actually guilty of the murders he was accused of. Also on the Green Mile are Eduard Delacroix (who is almost charming his childlikeness and his Cajun mix of French and English when he talks), Delacroix befriend a tiny mouse who he names Mr. Bojangles, there is also the quiet native american Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene) who plays a very short roll as he is the first to be executed in the electric chair, and then there is "Wild Bill" (Sam Rockwell) who is a ill-mannered mass murderer. It is confusing in a way who is the actual antagonist in this film, though the viewer is lead to hate Percy from the very start, especially after the extremely horrible thing he does during Del's execution. This film has some deep themes and carries with it some very deep emotions, as we grow to like some of the characters through out the film, and to see what happens to them is a bit hard to take, but it makes you question, if you work on death row and you believe a prisoner to be innocent, but you cannot prove it in a way that any court of law would accept it, what do you do? There are definitely some moral questions raised in this film. The film does a really good job at following Stephen King's novel, and the filmmakers did an amazing job on this film. First of all the actors are all absolutely perfectly cast for their roles and played their roles absolutely perfectly. The characters are all perfectly written, which is something that Stephen King really excels at, which is nice to see his characters played as he wrote them. The film also looks good, the sets and costumes all look perfectly true to their era. Just everything about the film looks really good. Th effects which are used very sparingly are very well done. Honestly I really have no negatives to say about this film. If you are expecting a Stephen King horror film, then this is not your film, this is a film that is more about human interaction, and deals with morality issues such as capital punishment and the idea of executing an innocent person, this film also touches on issues of racism and how in 1935 if you are black and accused of murder, then you are most likely going to be charged with that crime even though a thorough investigation was never done, and this begs us to consider how though on the surface things look so much better now, but are they really when you look at the prison industrial complex and the disproportionate amount of people of colour behind bars. In a way it is sad that we need the supernatural powers for people to question Coffey's guilt, and the way that that weighs on all of the characters is very beautifully done. This movie is a film that may cause more emotional viewers to tear up, I know there are parts where I definitely do. There is no happy ending, this is not a feel good film, but this is an excellent film, one of the best I have seen. I first saw The Green Mile in the theater when it first came out, I went into it not knowing what to expect, but expecting the traditional Stephen King horror movie, and like Stand By Me, and Shawshank Redemption, this is not the stereo-typical King film, it is beautiful, with amazing characters, great depth of story, and delves amazingly into the human condition. Well, while reading reviews of the film I came across the term "Magic Negro" describing John Coffey's character in the story. The "Magic Negro" is a trope that dates back centuries, as early as the fifteenth century in literature. It is when a black character is used in the story to somehow advance their white counterparts. If you read up on the trope, Coffey does fit that, but I feel like King also uses it to bring up the question of racial inequality, and maybe even using the trope to call to question of the trope itself. I will say this though, I am not a person of colour so I will not voice an opinion either way, because I don't know what Stephen King's thoughts were when writing the character, and I also do not know nor will presume to imagine how a person of colour views the use of the character. So yes, this is a potential controversy of the film, and if you are a person of colour I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, and how you feel about how the character is used and portrayed, is he nothing more than a "magic negro" or is his character used instead to help to serve as an example of racial inequality in the prison industrial complex. Again I am not qualified to say, but will respect the feelings of those who are upset by the character, and how it portrays people of colour. Would I recommend this film? Yes, this is a must see film. I don't care how old you are, or what genre of films you like, this is a film that must be viewed. This is one of the true classic films of our time, and I cannot recommend it enough, definitely one of my favourite movies. However take into consideration the controversy of how John Coffey's character fits into the trope that was discussed, and if that is something that you feel passionately about, then I would probably skip this film, or if you do choose to watch it I would love to hear your thoughts on it.