The Green Mile (film)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A 1999 adaptation of the Stephen King book, directed by Frank Darabont, who also made The Shawshank Redemption. Starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. And like Shawshank, it was an Oscar charmer, if not a winner.

Tropes used in The Green Mile (film) include:
  • Big No: Del when Percy steps on Mr Jingles.
    • Also Paul and the other guards when Percy shoots Wild Bill.
  • Did Not Do the Research: The book keeps the state that Cold Mountain is in a secret; the movie makes it Louisiana. The problem? The book specifically mentions the state uses counties as subdivisions; Louisiana uses parishes.
    • Also, during the movie's timeframe Louisiana conducted executions at parish courthouses, not at the state penitentiary.
  • Large Ham: Wild Bill, who would be pretty entertaining if he weren't such a disgusting, monstrous character.
  • Last Request: Coffey receives his choice of dinner on the day of his execution as is standard, and Paul begs him to ask for other things, including a chance of escape to which he and the other guards would gladly turn the other way. John assures them that he is ready to die. Even earlier in the film, John tells them that he's never seen a "flicker show", so a projector is set up and he is allowed to watch the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film Top Hat.

John: <watching, entranced> "They's angels... Angels, just like up in heaven..!"

    • Seeing Top Hat in his old age is enough to spook Edgecomb into telling his story to Elaine.
  • Oscar Bait
  • Pragmatic Adaptation: Some of the more rational explanations in the book are turned into supernatural explanations in the movie. Instead of Paul figuring out who the actual killer was on his own, John Coffey gave him the information through his touch.
  • Protagonist-Centered Morality: After John MindRapes Percy into killing William, the good guys say they understand why he did it to Percy, but ask why he did that to William. They understand fully after The Reveal, but why did it take that long? William was pretty much established as a Complete Monster who was already on death row for murder. They knew he'd done worse than Percy, just not on-screen.
    • They're specifically asking why John did it to Wharton. And they'd probably be right to ask: In the book it was mentioned that the two men didn't pass more than two dozen words past each other their entire time on the Mile, and half of those were when Wharton grabbed him.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Wharton has an 8-year-old's sense of humor, but can be quite cunning, and is a rapist pedophile.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Which is why Delacroix's crime was not mentioned in the film.
  • Retirony: Percy ending up a patient at the Briar Ridge Mental Institution, after being 'encouraged' to get a transfer there.
  • Soul Fragment: John gives a "part of himself" to Paul.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: Mr. Jingles. In the novel, he finally dies of old age in the end. In the film, he's last shown sleeping.
  • Survival Mantra: "Heaven... Heaven... I'm in heaven..."
  • Take Five: Early in the movie;

Paul Edgecombe: Percy, they're moving house in the infirmary. Why don't you go see if they could use some help?
Percy Whetmore: They got all the men they need.
Paul Edgecombe: Why don't you go make sure?
(A pause)
Paul Edgecombe: I don't care where you go, as long as it's not here at this moment.

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