The Green Mile movie: plot, music, actors

After he took off "The Shawshank Redemption" - a movie that still ranks as one of the most masterpiece movies ever made, - Frank Darabont was seriously considering a new Stephen King adaptation. Soon there was "The Green Mile." - another best-selling world movie that to this day has no equal in its genre.....

A story about magic, humanity and the value of life has resonated with millions of viewers from all corners of the globe. Thanks in large part not only to the heartbreaking plot, but also to the lead actor who played the leading role to Michael Clarke Duncanwhose acting was as sincere and sensual as possible. For the sake of his character John Coffey, the actor relived his childhood traumas.

"Even the critics cried."

"The Green Mile." - A heartbreaking story that will make even the most incorruptible viewer shed a tear... This is a look at the life of death row inmates who live each day in the Green Mile prison with the idea that soon it will all be over. It's time to pay the bills for what they've done, but does that apply to the main character, a kindly big guy? To John Coffey? This is a character with a particularly gentle and light soul, who is completely undeservedly imprisoned. The worst thing is that his innocence becomes obvious to everyone, but... his final is already predetermined. The whole story makes us think about the importance of humanity and whether there is karma in this world at all? What is justice, and why do all the slaps of fate often fall on the innocent?

Every detail in the movie is aimed onlooker - or rather his heart. From the color scheme to the musical accompaniment, the credit goes to the composer Thomas Newman (with the rare exception of a few jazz numbers).

Much of the soundtrack is made up of sensual instrumental piecesand although it didn't become a smash hit or a chart topper (as in the case of The Bodyguard, for example), it fulfilled its purpose in the best possible way: each tune perfectly complements its scene, helping to reveal the deep thoughts of the characters and evoke the proper feelings of compassion or rage in the viewer without too many words.

"The Audience Trap": a script built on personal pain and deception

Frank Darabont managed to turn Stephen King's 620-page "The Green Mile" into a screenplay of just in eight weeks. While he was writing, his cat developed a tumor. Since it was not causing his pet any pain, Darabont decided to forgo putting him to sleep and to take care of his pet's final days while working on a future bestseller. The filmmaker soon discovered that his cat's battle with a relatively painless tumor formed the basis for the story of prisoners awaiting their inevitable fate. Sadly, Darabont's cat passed away around the same time he finished the script. However, to some extent - he managed to contribute to what would later be called a cinematic masterpiece.

In fact, in addition to Darabont's personal experiences, the script was based on... deception. In the director's own words (and as you may have realized by now, part-time screenwriter), "The Green Mile" is literally a "mocked historical facts.". For example, in 1935, death row guards did not wear uniforms, and often did not even carry firearms! However, the biggest historical discrepancy in The Green Mile is... the chair itself. The electric chair was not commonplace in Louisiana until 1940. However, if the Stephen KingIf the direct author of the novel had taken all these factors into account, it is unlikely that he would have produced such a sensual and colorful, truly dark and memorable masterpiece... And we understand Darabont's decision to maintain this infidelity. From the category "lying for the greater good." - in this case for the benefit of the public.

"Branches of the same tree."

In general, the movie is incredibly faithful to the novel, and the cast is perfectly in tune with King's characters. For example Tom HanksHanks, who played the main warden, deliberately refused to visit a real prison before filming "The Green Mile", so that it did not undermine his confidence in the script, especially the kindness with which most of the guards treat prisoners. It is known that on the set Hanks did not go out of character - so, during an informal conversation with King during a break, Tom replied that he needed to watch the block and had to leave.

During filming, Tom Hanks bought food for everyone on the crew every Friday night. It's a nice gesture, especially when you consider that such a gigantic three-hour movie takes many more weeks to shoot than most other feature films. It's not surprising, however, since Hanks has a reputation as one of the most of Hollywood's good actorsand pleasant stories about his seemingly legendary kindness come from both filmmakers and people he encounters on the street. It's gotten to the point where Hanks has been dubbed "America's Daddy"!

However, the most beautiful character of "The Green Mile", whose fate made millions of eyes tear up, remains precisely the John Coffey. He may not have had as much soulful zeal behind him as Hanks, but many who have worked with Duncan have also characterized him as a do-gooder and just a nice, very soulful person. For "The Green Mile." Michael Clarke Duncan mentally returned to his painful childhood. To give this confidence to his character, Clark recalled the time when his father left him as a baby. This memory evoked the sadness Clark needed for his role, for which he received an Oscar nomination.

In general, the filming of "The Green Mile" went quite naturally: between the members of the team really reigned understanding. As Hanks tells it:

"There was a genuine affection for each other. A very disparate group of people, but there was some strange amalgamation of desire and talent in that we would get out of our trailers when we weren't on set to watch what someone was doing."

Considering how much real emotion, sadness and goodness was put into this motion picture - from script writing to filming - the success of The Green Mile doesn't surpriseEvery scene of this movie is imbued with real emotions and feelings, which simply could not be ignored by the viewer.