The Green Mile (1999)

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, James Cromwell, Doug Hutchinson, Barry Pepper, Sam Rockwell, Dabbs Greer, Michael Jeter
Certificate: 18
Genre: Crime, Fantasy

Paul Edgecomb (Hanks) is a prison guard who looks after the prisoners on death row.  When John Coffey (Duncan) becomes his newest inmate things begin to get a bit more interesting for him and his crew.

Amongst Paul's coworkers is Percy Wetmore (Hutchinson). Percy is a sadistic young man who likes to make life much harder for the inmates, however he has powerful contacts and therefore cannot be gotten rid of so easily.

The Green Mile has some really good performances, but none of them can outmatch Clarke Duncan's portrait of the strange John Coffey. He adds emotional weight to a character who you will love in the end. The mid film twist is also done really well. For about a third of the film, it seems like it might be The Shawshank Redemption all over again but then things start to get supernatural.

Altogether The Green Mile is a really good film. It's compelling, has some unsettling moments but most importantly has characters you care about.

****Brilliant