The Green Mile

It is never a bad thing when SPIKE is showing an absolute classic on a Friday night. The Green Mile combines some sci-fi elements with Frank Darabont's great ability to tell prison stories. Darabont of course made his imprint on the film world with another prison movie, The Shawshank Redemption. Although The Green Mile takes place in a similar setting, the two movies couldn't be more different. Shawshank tells us a story of how different inmates get themselves through the extremely tough times they face while in prison. Whether the troubles between them and the guards, each other, or just the obvious trails of solitary confinement. And the story finally ends with an elaborate escape by the films main character that you aren't completely expecting. Although The Green Mile touches on many of the same prison struggles, there are other elements that come into play that separate it from Shawshank.

The one scene that only sticks out to me when watching this movie is the scene where Michael Clark Duncan's character seems to transfer little bees from his mouth to the mouth of one of the troubled guards. This is the sic-fi element that I spoke about earlier that really makes this a unique film. We learn that John Coffey (Duncan) actually has all sorts of amazing powers. He has the power to heal others as well as the scene I talked about earlier. Coffey actually purposely attacks the guard so he will in fact attack another prisoner who we find out is actually responsible for the murder that Coffey has been sentenced for. His healing powers come into play a few times in what is a remarkable twist to what appears to be just a typical prison movie in the beginning.

The Green Mile was nominated for four academy awards and somehow didn't win a single win. Michael Clark Duncan was nominated for best supporting actor and despite a performance of a lifetime didn't win the award. The final scene of the movie where we see John Coffey finally being executed on the electric chair somehow makes us actually feel sympathy for someone that supposedly was a rapist and a murderer. That is one constant that Darabont brings over from Shawshank. That sympathy for prisoners that have committed some awful crimes, and yet the audience feels like they don't deserve to be punished like they have.

The Green Mile was an instant classic and a must see for all movie lovers.