The Green Mile. The last movie the Tom Hanks make in the old millennium.
The last story that Mr. Hanks stars in in 1999 is The Green Mile. The story of a corrections officer during the Great Depression and the wonders that he witnessed. John Coffey is arrested for the rape and murder of two young girls is sentenced to death by electric chair. He is brought to Officer Paul Edgecomb's block to carry out the sentence. In the weeks leading up to his sentence Paul find that Coffey is not ordinary man. He has special powers that can heal people, within a timely manner.
This is yet another movie that I have been yelled at for not seeing yet in my lifetime. I have has so many people ask me how, not why, but how have I never seen it? Truth is I really don't have an excuse. This is a movie that will be another classic someday but I just was never really interested, It hasn't been until recent years that I was interested in drama films. It's really was usually comedy or musical. When I started getting into drama it was older films in the 30s, 40s, or 50s. Drama from the 90s and early 00s were not for me. Yes, I am slowly realizing my mistake from last year and this years challenges that I have set for myself.
I will say that this movie is something truly special. I was excited to see this film for the first time because it meant people could stop hounding me for it. I was not excited to see it because it 3 hours long. Trust me I love long movies but I was very tired and I didn't feel like watching it. Truth really be told I was waited till the very end of the month because Alaina and Luke got me into Doctor Who..... and my obsession became way too real with that it tied up most of my month.
Anyways, this movie totally won me over. I have never cried so hard a Tom Hanks film yet, and I ball every time I see Forrest Gump. I thought that I would be board for most of the time, and want to do other things, because it's so long. I was totally drawn to the film from the very start. There is something about this film that makes you want to pay attention to it even if you have a million other things you have to do. It's a great film on humanity and love, caring and helping, being there in any way you can. It a film that touches your heat in soul in a way you never thought a Stephen King film could. There is no other way of really saying it other than you are watching something that is truly special.
I love the character of John Coffey. He is played by Michael Clarke Duncan and big, tall, buff, intimidating looking black man who has the sweet heart of gold and would never heart a flea. How he is respectful of all of the officers, the rules, the other inmate from the moment he walks into the block you start to wonder if he really raped and murdered those girls. I mean this man's only question when he gets to the block is if they turn all the lights off a bedtime... because he is scared of the dark. That is really when you ask if he could have done such and awful thing because what human can be that cruel and afraid of the dark? Knowing this later hurts me because when he is about to be put to death he asks Paul not to put the cloth over his head because he is afraid of the dark.
This would mark the second time a character being afraid of the dark kills me because the first time that happened is in Gone with the Wind.
The other part of John Coffey the speaks to my soul is after he tells the officers that he is innocent and shows him what really happened to the girls. He tells them that they he wants to die and it fine with being sentenced to death because then he can be at peace. They ask his if there is anything that they can do for him.. anything that he wants. He tells them that he has never seen a "flicker show". They set him up to watch the movie. They set him up to see Top Hat. Let me tell you I cried so hard because that hit my soul that all he wanted was to see a movie before he died. I was wailing in my living room and probably scared my neighbors. It was such a soul southing a beautiful moment for me personally!
I am not gonna lie, after seeing this movie I will not yell at others for not seeing it. I am a bit mad that it did not win Best Picture that year after seeing American Beauty last year and then see this film I think it was a HUGE mistake! I think this movie is far more remember already than American Beauty will ever be. There will never be character like John Coffey and Paul Edgecomb ever again and I thing that is a good thing. If there were they could have already been forgotten along with this movie. This film will surely go down in history as a classic "must see" along with other famous films. I think it should to studied and looked at over and over again. I for one will be doing that in future. I will be someone who makes other watch this movie and I will make sure it's not forgotten.
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