The Green Mile
1999
****½
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton
Frank Darabont attempts and partially succeeds in repeating the magic of The Shawshank Redemption with another prison-set period film adapted from Stephen King's book. Tom Hanks plays a death row corrections officer who begins to question the guilt of a gigantic but child-like black inmate, who was sentenced to death for the murder of two small girls. This gripping and moving drama provides a brutal condemnation of capital punishment, much like Dead Man Walking. At three hours, the film is long and occasionally over-sentimental. However, the performances are great and Michael Clarke Duncan, in particular, is a revelation.
