Review of The Green Mile

Set on Death Row in a Southern prison in 1935, The Green Mile is the remarkable story of the cell block’s head guard, who develops a poignant, unusual relationship with one inmate who possesses a magical gift that is both mysterious and miraculous.

This is the description of the movie you find on its web site - and you realise the truth in every single word of it only after you watch the movie and then sit back and think about it. What strikes you most, after all the layers of human drama and relationships are peeled away, is how the director takes an absolutely fantastic and unbelievable plot and portrays it so skillfuly that you are left thoroughly convinced. The story itself is quite simple and uncomplicated - a prisoner on death row has miraculous healing powers using which he heals three of the good guys (including a mouse!) and kills two of the baddies. After which he is executed for a crime he did not commit. End of story.

The film is directed to perfection, with the entire cast performing as much or as little as is necessary to make such a movie successful. Within the prison, human relationships are explored, attitudes established and each character, from jailor to convict, is fleshed out with equal skill.

Apart from the human drama, the attitudes prevalent in the 1930s in the South are very well brought out, as the healer is a man of African extraction.

On the whole, despite its seemingly stern and serious content, The Green Mile is an entertainer and leaves you with a good feeling.