“The Green Mile” starring Tom Hanks is the recent movie I got caught up with, and to say the movie has just influenced me will be an understatement. So I thought that I would just pen down upon the plot and screenplay.
As soon as I downloaded this movie, I just brushed through it. From the glimpses that I got, it seemed something similar to “Shawshank Redemption”. In the sense it was a prison based movie.
The first few scenes with the older Paul and Elaine showed, a man is who he is because of his past. His narration of his past to her, takes us to the role of Tom Hanks (Paul Edgecomb) which is worth a huge applause. He is a prison guard at the E block and its the place where executions of the death sentenced inmates are carried out. The real hero of the movie John Coffey comes in huge built, talks a little- like a child who has started to speak for a while now. By the looks all would eventually think that has he done something gruesome to be awarded with a death penalty. But when he enquires whether the lights would be switched on at nights, it made me think “Could he have done anything??? Hmmmm...?”
This is the kind of prison where, though people come in committing the worst imaginable murders are treated so well and given a chance to regret what they had done. The credit for this goes to the guards and the warden who are very human.
The first execution in the movie happens right after the introduction of Mr. Jingles-The circus mouse as named by Del, one of the inmates. The personification given to it is outstanding. Toot toot and his comical sense for helping out the prison guards to practice their lines during the executions are just out of this world.
This movie isn’t any ordinary one where the prison guards ill treat and assault their inmates. They strongly understand that, all they should be doing is “TALK”, cos these men get fragile as days go by. Percy happens to be the spoilt child amongst the guards. The reason for this is that he is the nephew of the Governor of State’s wife. Bullying around people and the inmates made me think “Oh! I hope he gets a chance to taste his own meat”. He had a state job in hand with better pay but rather preferred to stay at the E block.
The introduction of Wild Billy, to say the truth is a bang on the face. John Coffey who had been in the background till now comes to the limelight by curing the urinary infection that Paul had been suffering from for quite some time. I had an expression “What did just happen right now??” He seems to be a miracle of God and who treats by faith. Clearly he didn’t seem anything like tat till that moment. He wears an innocent look and a bright smile which makes the place feel warmer. Paul is put in a fix about John’s conviction and makes the move to meet the lawyer who argued for him. He, as plain as it can get, makes it almost believable that Coffey could have murdered the two little girls, with his story of his innocent pet dog who one day attacked his son out from no where. They were just thankful to God that he got one eye left of the two.
Wild Billy gets down with his pranks which really puts an awkward expression on the faces of the officers as well as me. But the way they kept on to theirs nerves was quite astonishing. He’s put in the refrain room a couple of times (a kind of a payback, for his behaviors) which had been kept as a store room till then.
The most disturbing part of the movie was the execution of Del. Who else can be the reason for that other than Percy himself? His pride was just getting out of bounds. It reached its climax when he kills Mr. Jingles. Again John reverses it, by giving back life to him. The real essence of his character had just started to come out. By this Paul cooks up an idea to treat Melinda, wife of warden Hal, suffering from brain tumour. Its successful implementation gained more support for our John.
The real twist placed at this point was the assassination of Wild Billy by John through Percy. And this landed Percy at his rightful place – The Mental Hospital. John had already seen from Billy that he was the one who murdered the two little girls. He showed this to Paul as well. Though John had put forth his innocence on his conviction loud and clear, it didn’t provide the grip to clear him of charges. He wanted to forgo his life, since he felt and saw the true colour of this world and its people. Those dialogues and the erupting emotions really touched me.
John is finally executed.
At the end of the narration, the story gives us a surprise package which is to be experienced by watching the movie.
Each character in this movie is such a piece of work.
The best I could do??
A STANDING OVATION. :-)
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