THE GREEN MILE

Directed by Frank Darabont. Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Sam Rockwell

FRANK DARABONT, whose 1994 Shawshank Redemption ranks as one of the most auspicious directorial debuts of all time, returns to centre stage after a lengthy six-year layoff with another Stephen King-penned Death Row drama, which has its fair share of moving moments but strives a little too obviously to be Shawshank II. Evidently intended as a full-scale epic, and granting itself an excessively indulgent three-hour running time to fulfil its lofty ambitions, The Green Mile isn't bad by any means, but those expecting a masterpiece will be sorely disappointed.

Tom Hanks (at his most restrained and effective) plays Paul Edgecomb, a warder on Death Row in a Southern prison, who is suffering from an agonising urinary infection, and has to put up with the constant presence of colleague Percy (Doug Hutchison), a sadistic bully with powerful connections who exploits his position in order to brutalise his charges mercilessly.

Hulking seven-foot man-mountain John Coffey (Clarke-Duncan) then arrives on Death Row, having been convicted of the savage murder of two little girls, while a Cajun inmate (Michael Jeter) awaits his execution and spends his final days befriending a mouse. The cast is completed by deranged homicidal lunatic "Wild Bill" Wharton (Rockwell) who steals the show completely with a magnificent tour de force of violent, psychotic menace.

The Green Mile proceeds to spin its convoluted yarn in extremely unhurried fashion - its pace can be seen as either stately or stagnant, depending on how engrossing you find the narrative. The characters are all richly detailed, the storyline is masterfully related, and the film's humanity rings through loud and clear - but it's all played a little too obviously for sentimental value, and it's nowhere near complex enough to justify its three-hour running time.

Coffey's gentle giant occasionally rips at the heartstrings, but the film relies excessively on his routine for its "heartwarming" content, and the allusions to his supernatural healing power detract considerably from what is an otherwise credible, effective tale.

Had it come from any other director, The Green Mile might have seemed a massively powerful piece of film-making. But, measured against the weight of expectation, it's no more or less than a good solid slice of Hollywood drama - fine while it lasts, but alarmingly forgettable for such an ambitious epic. Worthwhile, rather than essential.

RATING: HHHH