The Green Mile------A Great FIlm With A Message.
Created | Updated Jan 30, 2017
The film, "The Green Mile" starring Tom Hanks, as the name suggests is chiefly about life in the american penal system, in particular, death row.
Their is nothing outstanding about it for the first few frames, and it could be compared to any of James Cagney's films in the same genre, although not as good.
Tom Hanks, the central character is introduced as an old man living in a retirement home. In the first scene we see him putting some of his meal aside, nothing unusual in that he could be going to feed the ducks at a park nearby. We are also informed that he will be going for his daily walk, obviously a pensioner who likes to keep fit.
Then we are transported back to his first day as a prison warden on death row years before. The felons awaiting execution mostly exhibit the kind of behaviour seen as standard in films of the same nature. They are all hard men, unrepentive of their crimes to the last. Apart from the Hank's character, the wardens themselves portray some pretty disturbing attitudes towards their charges. The main part of the film is set in the era of racial segregation in america and all of the characters, except for Hank's, show their racism. If it were not for the uniforms, it would be difficult to tell who was the jailer, or jailed. Into this mix comes a giant black man, who despite his size comes across as gentle, and in contrast to the other inmates gets the sympathy vote right away. All are killers, but you are certain that in his case, there has been a miscarriage of justice.
Up to that point the film fails to distance itself from other prison dramas. Then, even though it is such a normal event into the equation comes a mouse, just the one, we presume it must be part of a colony. I thought that it would only have a brief role, but the whole film from then on centres on the relationship the mouse develops with all the characters, and their reaction to it. The mouse is filmed, for the most part, in a way that gives us the perspective of the prison from a "mouse eye view" as it were. The rodent comes everyday to feed on the scraps of food dropped by the wardens, and becomes a pet, allowing them to feed it by hand. Its visits become a diversion from the stark surroundings, and you begin to see a transformation in some of the felons. One of them is allowed to keep it in his cell, a sort of "mouse man" of the prison, as apposed to a "bird man".
During the course of the film, Tom Hank's is attacked by one of the inmates, and at this point, the film for my money starts to change from the hum-drum, to the magical. The black man gives Tom Hank's character the kiss of life, and because of his pulmonary ability, we are never really sure, revives him. Later in the film the mouse is also killed by the one felon left it seems, who has not in some way been changed by the cute little creature. Again the extraordinary powers, as seen in the breath of the black man come into play and the mouse is revived, but is never seen in the prison again. The barbaric practice of electrocution in the american prison system is laid bare, featuring a scene in which a warden tampers with equipment, causing a mans head to burst into flame during an execution.
In the last scene we are back with the elderly Hank's as he walks towards a hut, inside he moves a few items aside and we see a very elderly mouse slowly shuffle towards him,and he feeds it with the food he has saved. I was in floods of tears by that point, but thinking about the ending later it was obvious the black man, had not only saved both of them, but had also given them the gift of longevity, even eternal life.
The contrast in this film, between the no-win situation of the inmates with all of its gritty realism, and the simple addition of the "ah" factor, in the form of the mouse, may have been bordering on the realms of the absurd, as far as the longevity of the mouse is concerned. It totally convinced me that capitol punishment in whatever form, cannot be justified as innocent people are executed. The american way of dealing with those who commit the most heinous of crimes, is only reinforcing their psychology that unlawful violence, is punished with a state approved version. Where is the morality in that?.
Their is nothing outstanding about it for the first few frames, and it could be compared to any of James Cagney's films in the same genre, although not as good.
Tom Hanks, the central character is introduced as an old man living in a retirement home. In the first scene we see him putting some of his meal aside, nothing unusual in that he could be going to feed the ducks at a park nearby. We are also informed that he will be going for his daily walk, obviously a pensioner who likes to keep fit.
Then we are transported back to his first day as a prison warden on death row years before. The felons awaiting execution mostly exhibit the kind of behaviour seen as standard in films of the same nature. They are all hard men, unrepentive of their crimes to the last. Apart from the Hank's character, the wardens themselves portray some pretty disturbing attitudes towards their charges. The main part of the film is set in the era of racial segregation in america and all of the characters, except for Hank's, show their racism. If it were not for the uniforms, it would be difficult to tell who was the jailer, or jailed. Into this mix comes a giant black man, who despite his size comes across as gentle, and in contrast to the other inmates gets the sympathy vote right away. All are killers, but you are certain that in his case, there has been a miscarriage of justice.
Up to that point the film fails to distance itself from other prison dramas. Then, even though it is such a normal event into the equation comes a mouse, just the one, we presume it must be part of a colony. I thought that it would only have a brief role, but the whole film from then on centres on the relationship the mouse develops with all the characters, and their reaction to it. The mouse is filmed, for the most part, in a way that gives us the perspective of the prison from a "mouse eye view" as it were. The rodent comes everyday to feed on the scraps of food dropped by the wardens, and becomes a pet, allowing them to feed it by hand. Its visits become a diversion from the stark surroundings, and you begin to see a transformation in some of the felons. One of them is allowed to keep it in his cell, a sort of "mouse man" of the prison, as apposed to a "bird man".
During the course of the film, Tom Hank's is attacked by one of the inmates, and at this point, the film for my money starts to change from the hum-drum, to the magical. The black man gives Tom Hank's character the kiss of life, and because of his pulmonary ability, we are never really sure, revives him. Later in the film the mouse is also killed by the one felon left it seems, who has not in some way been changed by the cute little creature. Again the extraordinary powers, as seen in the breath of the black man come into play and the mouse is revived, but is never seen in the prison again. The barbaric practice of electrocution in the american prison system is laid bare, featuring a scene in which a warden tampers with equipment, causing a mans head to burst into flame during an execution.
In the last scene we are back with the elderly Hank's as he walks towards a hut, inside he moves a few items aside and we see a very elderly mouse slowly shuffle towards him,and he feeds it with the food he has saved. I was in floods of tears by that point, but thinking about the ending later it was obvious the black man, had not only saved both of them, but had also given them the gift of longevity, even eternal life.
The contrast in this film, between the no-win situation of the inmates with all of its gritty realism, and the simple addition of the "ah" factor, in the form of the mouse, may have been bordering on the realms of the absurd, as far as the longevity of the mouse is concerned. It totally convinced me that capitol punishment in whatever form, cannot be justified as innocent people are executed. The american way of dealing with those who commit the most heinous of crimes, is only reinforcing their psychology that unlawful violence, is punished with a state approved version. Where is the morality in that?.
