Script Review: THE GREEN MILE
            by Bert Ehrmann

     Let me just start by saying that the script for the movie THE GREEN MILE was one of the best scripts that I've ever read. The script was at least as good of quality as that of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, and that movie was excellent.

THE GREEN MILE deals with John Coffey, a simple man who is convicted of multiple murders that he did not commit. He is sentenced to death for this crime. The prison where this execution is to be carried out is overseen by a guard named Paul Edgecomb (who's the narrator of the story at the beginning and end of the script and portrayed by Tom Hanks). It is quickly discovered through a mouse with a broken back and a cancer ridden wife of another guard that John Coffey has some extraordinary healing powers. Paul must decided whether Coffey's sentence should be carried out or if he is set free to heal others. Paul pays a great price for his decision when we realize what a cost he has has had to give for his "choice".

What I found most interesting about the script is that most of it deals with life on death row (or the GREEN MILE as it is called by Paul) and the interaction between the prisoners and the guards. Think THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION where the guards are fleshed out characters and not just vicious monsters. In fact, the screenplay was written by Frank Darabont who also wrote the screenplay for the THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (both are based on stories by Steven King). We see the almost monotony of the prison guards as they carry out their grim task of killing prisoners. We also see how an execution can go VERY wrong causing the prolonged death of a relatively kind convict.

If the script I read is turns out to be the shooting script, then this movie will probably be the best movie of the year. I can seriously see this movie winning the OSCAR® for the best picture of the year. 7/27/1999

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