MovieChat Forums > The Green Mile (1999) Discussion > Such a perfect tear-jerker

Such a perfect tear-jerker

posted 7 years ago by tph890 (490)
5 replies | jump to latest

A powerful, heart-wrenching tale. Doesn't make me cry every time, but if I need a cry, this will get me there. The ending is brutal. The whole story is brutal.
Also, great performances all around. Consistent and meaningful.
Just a top-notch production, and an awesome adaptation of King's novel.
I love this movie, but there are certain parts that I just can't watch (the execution scenes, especially the final execution). I have to turn away or mute the sound, but I still finish watching.
But then you have the healing scenes...and they kinda balance everything.
Still a tough watch, but a truly beautiful film.

[–] Culburn (3638) 7 years ago

The good guys are pious & pompous.

The condemned are all good guys at heart cept Billy the Kid.

Paul is crestfallen that he's immortal. & I'm 25-years-old.

[–] tph890 (490) 7 years ago

Only Coffee was good--falsely accused and such. The others were definitely remorseful--except for Billy the Kid--but they still committed awful crimes, and had to answer for them.
But the condemned were presented as human beings, and it's OK to feel a bit of sympathy for a person who did something awful, but who knows it. No sympathy for Billy at all, only minor sympathy for the others. Delacroix didn't deserve to die the way he did, and Percy gets punished for it in kind, but Delecroix was still guilty of an awful crime...
And the only rotten guard was Percy. I don't feel that the other guards were pompous or even unjust--they were just doing their jobs as best they could.

[–] Culburn (3638) 7 years ago

Only Coffee was good--falsely accused and such.

It matters not, 890, he's an angel.

[[[The others were definitely remorseful--except for Billy the Kid--but they still committed awful crimes, and had to answer for them.]]]

But, we "see" Coffee's crimes, even though they're non existent & of nary consequence to him. Only to everyone else.
But, we "see" Kid's crimes and he is dealt with.
We don't see Bitterbuck's crimes. We don't see Delecroix's crimes. Those crimes are withheld from our psyche, from our sight. That's a cheat. We're only shown Bitterbuck wanting to lay with his wife again. We're only shown Dell wanting to buddy up with his guards before he committed murder.

It's that damn King in association with that damn Darabout.

Damn them!

[–] strntz (12773) 7 years ago

The good guys are pious & pompous.

That's why they're good!! And to my eyes they were more humble than pompous.

The guards on the Mile were specifically chosen because (at least at this prison) they want guards to keep the condemned calm. Percy of course was not chosen but placed by nepotism. Shawshank showed us most guards were dicks but even in that movie there were two guards that seemed decent (the library guard and the guard that informed Andy about Tommy's test results).

Really, the only one of the cons with a known good heart was Coffey. Bitterbuck and Del showed remorse but probably it was more about a life wasted than true regret.

[–] Moonglum9 (11340) 7 years ago

The part that got me was when the big guy said to the mouse: "You want some cornbread, Mr. Jangles? Well you can forget it, CUZ I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"