Genre: Death row drama After the incredible post-box office success of The Shawshank Redemption it was perhaps inevitable that Frank Darabont would return to the screen with another excellent adaptation of a Stephen King prison drama, and The Green Mile - released in 1999 to much acclaim - certainly delivered the goods. The Green Mile tells the story of John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), an enormous African-American on death row for the rape and murder of two young white girls, who has extraordinary powers of healing. Prison officer Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) in charge of the death row inmates at the Louisiana prison where Coffey resides, recognises his gift after witnessing Coffey bringing a mouse back to life, and soon comes to realise that - far from being a killer - this softly-spoken, gentle giant might be more of a saint. Few films have quite the raw emotional impact as The Green Mile, and Clarke Duncan's towering performance (literally and figuratively) brought a tear to the eye of audiences everywhere with both its subtlety and undercurrent of graceful reserve. The Christ analogy might be obvious to some, but this is what lends the film its immediacy - even in the midst of evil peace and compassion can prevail. See Also: Dead Man Walking
