History Film / TheGreenMile

* AdaptationalLateAppearance: In the novel, Del already had Mr. Jingles as his pet when John Coffey is brought onto the Green Mile. In the film, Mr. Jingles doesn't appear for the first time until after John Coffey arrives.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: In the novel, Arlen Bitterbuck had already been executed by the time John Coffey had been brought to death row. Here, he's still alive when John arrives and is not killed until some time later.

* AdoringThePests: This movie features Mr. Jingles / Steamboat Willy, a mouse found running around the death row cells. They decide not to kill him, aside from the JerkAss Percy, because of his unusual behavior: fearless in the face of humans, accepts food only from the regular guards, and his searching of the cells as if he's awaiting for somebody. Mr. Jingles adopts Eduard Delacroix when he arrives and entertains all with his spool fetching trick, even performing a show for the guards on another block.

In 1935, Paul Edgecombe (Creator/TomHanks) works as a corrections officer in Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death row, which was given the nickname [[TitleDrop "The Green Mile"]]. His primary duty is to send off criminals to their final fate with the electric chair. When John Coffey (Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan), a [[GentleGiant gentle, towering black man]], is found near the corpses of two girls, he is imprisoned and sentenced to the chair. This eventually leads Paul to discover the mysterious, supernatural powers that John possesses, even as time ticks closer towards the day of execution. Regardless, Paul's life will be irrevocably altered by John's miracles.

-->'''Del:''' I'm sorry for what I did. I wish I could take it back, but I can't.

* PrisonersLastMeal: John Coffey is treated to a last meal before his execution by electric chair, including meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, okra, peach cobbler, and some of Mrs. Edgecomb's cornbread.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Immediately after pranking Delacroix with a JumpScare so that he falls and hits his head, Percy gets grabbed and groped by Wild Bill, causing him to [[BringMyBrownPants wet himself in a panic]].

* GilliganCut: After the "Moon Pie" prank.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Try not to cheer for Percy when he [[spoiler: shoots [[WouldHurtAChild Wild Bill]] dead]]. Granted this tends to only happen on a second viewing because [[spoiler:it is not yet revealed that he was the actual rapist and murderer of the girls that John Coffey was convicted for and Bill has only looked LaughablyEvil up until this point]].

--> '''Hal:''' [[PrecisionFStrike WHAT IN THE BLUE FUCK WAS THAT?]] There's puke all over the floor up there. And that smell! I had Van Hayes open both doors but that smell's not going out for five damn years that's what I'm bettin'. And that asshole, Wharton, is singing about it. You can hear him up there!
--> '''Paul:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Can he carry a tune?]]

* MoodWhiplash: Paul intentionally invokes this to calm down Hal when Del's execution goes wrong. [[ActuallyPrettyFunny It works]].

-->'''Elderly man:''' Why do we always watch this stuff?
-->'''Elderly woman:''' It's ''interesting''.
-->'''Elderly man:''' "Interesting"? Buncha inbred trailer trash. All they ever talk about is fucking.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption''. A Christian allegory PeriodPiece about a wrongfully-accused convict, based on a Creator/StephenKing story and directed by Frank Darabont, and featuring several of the same supporting actors.

** Don't mistreat the inmates in front of any of the guards (sans Percy), but ''especially'' not Brutal.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[spoiler: after Paul is cured of his UTI. "Was your missus pleased? Several times."]]

** The audience that came to witness Del's execution is disgusted and horrified when he's roasted alive in front of them thanks to Percy's sabotage, including the family of his victims.

* AccidentalTruth: Though Paul's defense lawyer turns out to be wrong about John Coffey, his point about how people can be more dangerous than they appear to be turns out to be valid. [[spoiler: Wild Bill was someone who the two girls knew personally.]]

* AngelUnaware: [[spoiler: It's ''strongly'' implied that John Coffey is one, especially considering he remembers nothing about his past and his lawyer couldn't find any information on him, despite his enormous size.]]

** [[spoiler:Wild Bill Wharton is a psychopathic child rapist and murderer who not only killed the Detterick girls, but [[SmugSnake gloated about it to John Coffey]] and seems to be delighted with the fact that Coffey's getting blamed for his crime. John Coffey [[BewareTheNiceOnes mind-controls Percy into shooting him]] because of it.]] Although the rest of the guards are disturbed by Coffey using [[LesserOfTwoEvils Percy]] for the deed, no one disputes that the [[EvilerThanThou victim]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil deserved it]].
** Non-lethal example with [[spoiler: Percy, who is mind-controlled into killing Wharton,]] the process of which ends up [[MindRape destroying his mind.]]
* BaitTheDog: William Wharton is a total asshole who causes chaos for the guards, but he's [[LargeHam very outrageous]] and [[LaughablyEvil very amusing]], so like the rest of the Death Row prisoners on the mile, you wonder whether he really deserves it. It doesn't hurt that he directs a large part of his bad behavior [[KickTheSonOfABitch towards Percy.]] [[spoiler: Turns out he's the worst of them ''by far'', enough to make Percy look positively sympathetic by comparison, and [[TheReveal the real killer of the Detterick girls]].]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Before Del is executed, one of his victim's family members tauntingly remarks about how she hopes Del burns in hell for what he did. [[spoiler:When Del's execution is sabotaged and he is literally being burned alive in front of them, the family members of Del's victims vomit in disgust at this and crowd towards the door in an attempt to avoid facing the horrific scene.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: John Coffey seems like the archetypical GentleGiant, and he is. [[spoiler: But boy, did Bill and Percy pay for their sins in overtime when John Coffey uses his powers and forces the latter to shoot the former, [[MindRape destroying Percy's mind in the process]].]]
* BigBad: [[spoiler: As much of an asshole Percy is throughout the film, [[EvilerThanThou William "Wild Bill" Wharton establishes himself as the true evil in the climax when it turns out he raped and murdered the two girls that John Coffey is on death row for]], kicking the whole plot into motion.]]

* ChekhovsGun: The reference to ''Film/TopHat'' in the very beginning of the movie [[spoiler: is actually recently released during 1935, and John Coffey especially wanted to see that movie as his last request.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: Guess who actually committed the crime for which Coffey was wrongfully convicted? [[spoiler:Wharton, who happens to be in the death row of the same prison at the same time as Coffey for an unrelated crime.]]

* CrucialCross: As Creator/TomHanks' character wonders why God allowed two little girls to be murdered, his wife comes into frame and brings her cross necklace right into the center of the viewer's eye, almost as an answer to his question. Using the cross as an answer to evil foreshadows the nature of the [[SignificantMonogram aptly named]] John Coffey, a kind and gentle inmate on death row. [[spoiler:John wants himself to be executed because he feels all the evils of humanity-he dies for our sins.]]
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Del's horrifically sabotaged execution. Without the wet sponge, Del wasn't simply electrocuted with relative ease. He was slowly and painfully '''''cooked.''''' Even after ''bursting into flame,'' he takes almost another minute to actually die.]]
* CursedWithAwesome: Paul and Mr. Jingles. [[spoiler: Paul lies awake at night wondering how much longer he will live, considering that Mr. Jingles--a mouse; an animal that usually lives 1,000 days maximum--is now at least 64 years old.]]
* DepravedBisexual: Wild Bill. He grabs Percy through the bars of his cell and creepily kisses him on the cheek before grabbing his crotch and threatening to rape him. Also, [[spoiler:he raped and murdered Katie and Cora Detterick, the crime that John was framed for.]]

* DramaticIrony: Katie and Cora's family denounces John Coffey as he raped and murdered their little daughters, [[spoiler: unaware of the fact that the real perpetrator of the crime was punished days ago.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Strongly implied. Despite all the horrible, loathsome things he does, Percy sheds a tear when John Coffey [[spoiler: shows him Wharton's crimes]], right before [[spoiler: shooting him dead.]]
** Explicitly during [[spoiler: Del's execution, even though he’s the one who sabotaged it.]] Even he’s horrified by the results, though for purely selfish reasons.

** Subverted when Percy stomps on Mr. Jingles as revenge for Del laughing at him after Wild Bill assaults him and he soils himself, but John manages to use his powers to revive him.

** It is also believed that this is one of the reasons that [[spoiler: Percy refuses to wet the sponge during Del's execution, simply to get back at him for laughing at him.]]

* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler:When Percy sabotages Del's execution, the result is so horrifying that even he is sickened by the sight of Del burning alive and tries to look away. Paul is so enraged at what Percy has done that he makes Percy watch the whole thing AND put out Del's flaming corpse afterwards]].

** In one of his first conversations with Warden Hal, Paul warns him that Percy's going to hurt someone bad someday if he doesn't shape up. He's right doublefold - first when he sabotages [[spoiler:Del's execution]] with utterly horrific results, and second when he [[spoiler:shoots Wild Bill Wharton.]]

* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:After getting {{Mind Raped}} by John, Percy is put into the same mental hospital he planned on working at.]]

** Hal breaks down sobbing [[spoiler: when John Coffey heals his wife.]]
** While all of the guards are on the verge of tears, Dean is openly crying like a baby [[spoiler: at John Coffey's execution.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Try not to cheer for Percy when he [[spoiler: shoots [[WouldHurtAChild Wild Bill]] dead.]] Granted this tends to only happen on a second viewing because [[spoiler:it is not yet revealed that he was the actual rapist and murderer of the girls that John Coffey was convicted for and has just been LaughablyEvil up until this point]].

** Wild Bill taunts John Coffey [[spoiler: with the memories of killing their girls, seemingly just to taunt him.]] So John [[spoiler: "uses" Percy as a weapon to fill Wild Bill with lead.]]

* {{Manchild}}: Two examples. Wharton, who’s on [[PsychopathicManchild the psychotic end of the spectrum,]] and John Coffey, who is an innocent GentleGiant. Percy acts like one too in some ways.

* OhCrap: Paul gets this reaction when he sees Percy [[spoiler: stand outside Wharton's cell and reach for his gun.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: Paul and Mr. Jingles. [[spoiler:He is 108 when he tells his story to Elaine, doesn't look a day older than 80, and the mouse is at least 64 years old.]]
* OnceMoreWithClarity: "You love your sister? You make any noise, you know what will happen." The first lines we hear in the film, it's only later that we find out who said it and when: [[spoiler:Wharton, during his murder of the Detterick girls.]]

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Paul's encounter with John Coffey granted him supernatural longevity (though not immortality), and as a result he has seen his friends and loved ones die, including his son.]]
* OverlyLongScream: A rare example of this trope being played straight. [[spoiler: Immediately when the switch is thrown during Del's execution, he begins screaming in ungodly agony, leading Paul to figure out that Percy didn't wet the sponge and Del is literally being cooked alive. He screams for the entire first half of the execution, and likely would have still been screaming right up until his death had his vocal chords not burned up.]]
* PainfulAdhesiveRemoval: Brutus Howell, as they go to untie {{Jerkass}} Percy Whetmore, advises that his mother said that if you remove the tape quickly it won't hurt as much. He notes that his Mother was wrong as Percy yelps in pain as they rip the duct tape off.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Both Percy and Wild Bill qualify. Percy frequently calls Del a "faggot" and Wild Bill repeatedly calls John Coffey a "nigger".

* PragmaticAdaptation: Some of the more rational explanations in the book are turned into supernatural explanations in the movie. [[spoiler:Instead of Paul figuring out who the actual killer was on his own, John Coffey gave him the information through his touch.]]

* PropheticName: Eduard ''Delacroix'' – "of the Cross" in French. His death is, to say the ''very'' least, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath excruciating.]]
* RapeAndRevenge: [[spoiler: After learning that Wharton raped and murdered the two little girls, John uses his powers to force Percy to shoot Wharton dead.]]

* {{Retirony}}: [[spoiler: Percy ending up a patient at the Briar Ridge Mental Institution, after being "encouraged" to get a transfer there, with only a few years to live at most.]] CallItKarma.

-->'''Percy Whetmore:''' They got all the men they need.

** Double Subverted with John Coffey. [[spoiler:When the police found him with the two dead girls, he was sobbing that "he tried to take it back", leading everyone to assume he raped and murdered those two girls. While it turns out that John is innocent and Wild Bill was responsible, it still counts as this trope because he did feel remorseful about his inability to bring the two girls back to life with his healing powers.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: {{Invoked|Trope}} by John Coffey on himself: He insists on having his execution carried out as planned, despite Paul's reluctance to do so and desire to help him escape; his explanation for this is that being TheEmpath makes it so painful and exhausting for him to live in a world filled with pain and evil that he would like to die to escape from it.]]
* UnbuiltTrope: Despite being often cited as the TropeMaker for the MagicalNegro, this film does a lot towards deconstructing it as well. John Coffey isn't a wise elderly man who the white characters look to as a source of guidance, he's a middle-aged {{Manchild}} whom the main characters keep at arm's-length because he ''is'' a murderer of two children [[spoiler: or so they think.]] In addition, his magic powers are shown to be [[CursedWithAwesome agonizingly painful]] for him, to the extent that he [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding willingly submits to being wrongfully executed because he's just so tired of living.]]]] Not to mention the fact that he's just as capable of harming the white people as helping them, as shown when he [[spoiler: brainwashes Percy into [[KickTheSonOfABitch murdering Wild Bill]], [[MindRape destroying Percy's mind in the process]]. And because of him, Paul has become immensely long-lived, but [[WhoWantsToLiveForever views it as just as much a curse]] as John Coffey felt about his abilities.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Paul remembers his son being grown during the events of the film, which he later realizes doesn't quite add up. He is an old man, after all; his recollection isn't what it used to be. [[spoiler:Though given his CursedWithAwesome immortality and that he outlived his son, this may hold more water than initially thought.]]

** [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse Gladly]]. Mr. Jingles wound up living around 16 times ''longer'' than the average mouse. Assuming that this will also apply to Paul[[note]]and also factoring in that [[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005148.html in 1935]], the average life expectancy of a (white) human male in the United States was 61[[/note]], Paul would wind up living until ''at least'' the age of '''976''']].
*** [[spoiler: Then again, Mr. Jingles was 'juiced' by while being held by Coffey as he experienced out of control agony over feeling Delcroix's death, while Paul's 'juice' was given deliberately for a specific purpose. It's possible Mr. Jingles got a much, much larger dose and hence why he lived so impossibly long for a mouse, while Paul may still be alive for another twenty or thirty years instead of several centuries.]]

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Wild Bill would rape and murder two, actually.]]

''The Green Mile'' is a film adaptation based on [[Literature/TheGreenMile the book of the same name]] by Creator/StephenKing, which was released on December 10th, 1999. It was directed by Frank Darabont (''Film/TheShawshankRedemption''). And like ''Shawshank'', it was an Oscar charmer, if not a winner.

''The Green Mile'' is a film adaptation based on [[Literature/TheGreenMile the book of the same name by Creator/StephenKing, which was released on December 10th, 1999. It was directed by Frank Darabont (''Film/TheShawshankRedemption''). And like ''Shawshank'', it was an Oscar charmer, if not a winner.

->''"We each owe a death. There are no exceptions. But, oh, god... sometimes, the green mile seems so long."''

-->''"We each owe a death. There are no exceptions. But, oh, god...sometimes, the green mile seems so long."''

In 1935, Paul Edgecombe (Creator/TomHanks) works as a corrections officer in Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death row, which was given the nickname [[TitleDrop "The Green Mile"]]. His primary duty is to send off criminals to their final fate with the electric chair. When John Coffey (Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan), a [[GentleGiant gentle, towering black man]], is found near the corpses of two girls, he is imprisoned and sentenced to the same fate. This eventually leads Paul to discover the mysterious, supernatural powers that John possesses, even as time ticks closer towards the day of execution. Regardless, Paul's life will be irrevocably altered by John's miracles.