Parents' Guide to

The Green Mile

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Compassionate movie, but has stereotypes, violence, cursing.

Movie R 1999 188 minutes
The Green Mile Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 18 parent reviews

novedmind
novedmind Adult
September 3, 2022
age 13+

Jack J.
Jack J. Adult
September 20, 2023
age 12+

I know parents will think that their kids should not watch this, I thought the same thing so I watched the movie before i let my kids watch it and yes there is abit of violence but there is heaps of positive messages and it’s a really inspiring movie and my kids struggle with thinking that after watching violence and thinking it’s ok but no signs of that we’re shown so if your kids struggle with this do not worry about showing this movie to them because there will be no negative impacts
See all 18 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE GREEN MILE, Paul Edgecombe (Tom Hanks) is a Depression-era Louisiana prison guard. His responsibility is overseeing Death Row, called "The Green Mile" because of the color of the floor between the cells and the electric chair. Newly incarcerated John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a Black man convicted of raping and murdering two little White girls. He's a gentle man with the mysterious ability to heal. Edgecombe treats the other characters with kindness, incarcerated and colleagues alike. In sharp contrast, antagonists like another guard or one of the incarcerated men are petty and cruel.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (18 ):
Kids say (81 ):

This is a compassionate and well-intended movie with outstanding direction. The plot veers into melodrama at times, with at least one coincidence that's overly convenient, but the humanity of the guards keeps the movie on track most of the time. Hanks plays his most recognizable character type: someone fair, kind, and capable. Bonnie Hunt's performance as Edgecombe's loving wife is a pleasure to watch. Doug Hutchison is terrific as Percy, the nephew of the governor's wife who's assigned to work for Edgecombe and whose combined arrogance and insecurity lead to disaster. And while it's unfortunate that Duncan is forced to shoulder an amalgam of stereotypes, his stellar performance showcases Coffey's innocence and goodness.

It's pretty easy to make a movie where the hero saves the Earth from asteroids or blasts the villains into smithereens, because those kinds of battles give us lots of very cool stuff to look at. It's a lot harder to make a movie that highlights the heroism of small gestures. Teens, who may feel that the problems of the world are too overwhelming to address, can learn from this movie that a small courtesy can have an enormous impact. Just be ready to discuss the ways in which The Green Mile reduces Black and mentally disabled characters into stereotypes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the idea that a person might have an extraordinary talent to heal, where that power might come from, and what the responsibilities and burdens might be. Must that ability be accompanied, as it is in John Coffey, with the agonizing experience of "feeling the pain of the world"? Can someone be a healer without experiencing the pain they relieve in others? What can be healed, and what cannot?

  • The movie is primarily set in two institutional locations: a prison and a nursing home. What are the similar and different ways in which these two places are shown, and how do they play into the movie's overall themes and messages?

  • What would be the challenges in adapting a novel into a movie? Are novels generally better or worse than the movies based on them? What are some examples of each?

  • Discuss the character of John Coffey. Is it positive to see a Black character depicted to such angelic levels of "goodness," or is it flattening and dehumanizing? Is it benign or troubling that a Black man with a mental disability is shown willing to accept death by electric chair when he had the opportunity to safely escape?

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