Today, I am going to explain an American realism
drama film called “Green Mile”.
Spoilers ahead!
The premise of the movie is set during the
time of the great depression.
It is a time when people die to get a job
and make money.
The societal condition is not ideal but lucky
for the protagonist Paul, he is a guard in
the state prison of Louisiana.
The prison consists of death row cells referred
to as the green mile.
Paul is in charge of the criminals who are
sentenced to death.
For the past year, he has been having trouble
at work because of a bladder infection.
He has to frequently take medicines to reduce
pain and can hardly pee because of it.
His fellow guards are all kind people except
a pretentious man named Percy.
He was appointed to the force because of his
father’s connections and shows his incompetence
every chance he gets.
He treats the inmates like animals and shows
no respect for his seniors.
One afternoon, Percy brings in a criminal
named John Cofey and makes a show out of the
guy, calling him a dead man.
The Greenmile Movie Watch Online
His colleagues sigh, annoyed by his obnoxious
personality.
The criminal John is giant compared to the
guards but is quiet and submissive.
Paul is amazed that a muscular man like him
is worried the lights will go off at night
because he is scared of the dark.
Before he leaves, John puts his hand forward
and shakes Paul’s hand, something that no
other criminals have ever done.
The guard is so intrigued that he does some
digging and finds out why John was sent to
jail.
Last month, two girls were kidnapped from
their backyard.
When the father found out, he and the people
from the village organized a search party.
John was found crying hysterically while holding
the dead bodies of the little girls.
He was accused of assaulting the girls and
killing them and since there was no evidence
to prove otherwise, he was convicted.
Later, Paul is outside when he meets the prison
warden Hal Moores.
Hal reveals that Percy has applied for an
administrator job at a mental hospital, which
would mean better pay and better hours.
The news is exciting for Paul because he and
his co-worker are tired of cleaning after
Percy’s mess.
The warden also mentions that his wife, Melinda,
is not doing good.
She suffers from a lethal brain tumor which
has put her on her deathbed.
Hal is constantly worried for her and feels
helpless that he cannot save her.
At night, Paul talks to his wife and tells
her about John.
He also apologizes that he can no longer make
love because of the excruciating pain caused
by the bladder infection.
His wife wants him to go see the doctor but
Paul is almost ashamed to have gotten the
disease.
The following day, one of the guards named
Brutus sees a mouse in the cell block.
They try to catch it but it runs into a padded
store room.
Afraid that it will eat away the floor, they
clean up the entire room to look for it.
But strangely enough, the mouse is missing.
A few hours later, Percy spots the mouse and
goes into a fury trying to kill it.
The mouse goes back into the store room, making
Percy clean the room as the others did earlier.
The guards don’t tell him they already tried
that and watch him lose his mind over the
missing mouse.
Paul berates him for making a fuss out of
nothing which results in Percy being disrespectful
to him and his friends.
He threatens to use his connections to fire
all of them from their jobs.
Paul retaliates that if he ever makes such
a threat again, they will teach him a lesson,
even at the cost of their jobs.
In the following scene, Paul and the others
are preparing the electric chair for an upcoming
execution.
The most important part of the execution is
putting a wet sponge on the convict’s head
before the cap is attached.
If the sponge is removed, the person will
struggle before his death but if it remains
the electric current will go straight through
the head, and the execution will go smoothly.
Later at night, Brutus leads the criminal’s
execution.
Paul knows that Percy was waiting to witness
an execution before transferring to another
job.
When confronted about this, Percy reveals
that he doesn’t just want to witness one
but is looking to be in charge of an inmate’s
execution.
In the following scene, one of the inmates
named Del finds the mouse again and names
it “Mr. Jingles”.
He is amazed by the animal’s intelligence
because it can fetch a spool of thread as
a trick.
The guards allow Del to keep Mr. Jingles as
a pet since it does them no harm.
Then, we see Paul meet Warden Hal again.
This time, the warden is worried about a new
inmate being admitted to the prison today.
His name is Wild Bill, a sociopath who killed
three people in a holdup.
He is aggressive and evil so the guards will
have to be extra careful while handling him.
Unfortunately for Paul, that day, the bladder
infection makes him suffer so much that he
can hardly pay attention to his surroundings.
Two guards bring the murderer Bill to the
prison.
He pretends to be in trance and makes an attack
on them.
They try their best to restrain him but the
man hits Paul in the groin, multiplying the
pain he was already enduring.
Similarly, another guard is nearly strangled,
and the only one who can stop him remains
Percy.
He is right behind the murderer with a full
view of him but he freezes in terror and can
do nothing.
Finally, Brutus comes in and takes the murderer
out.
When the others bring him to the cell, Paul
is left behind and collapses in pain.
John sees this and asks him to come closer
because of an emergency.
Even in great pain, Paul goes to him, only
to be grabbed.
John puts his hand on his crotch and does
something that causes the pain to disappear
in an instant.
Upon letting go, the inmate is weak because
the pain Paul was enduring has transferred
to him.
Seconds later, a cloud of gnat-like spores
fly out of his mouth and he goes back to normal.
A shocked Paul asks him what happened to which
John only says that he helped.
In reality, he sucked the disease out of Paul
and suffered himself but then, the disease
flew out of his body as spores.
After the process, John is exhausted.
He goes to sleep while Paul goes to pee.
To his surprise, he feels no pain at all.
At night, he returns home and makes love to
his wife.
Because of the incident, Paul has grown more
interested in John and his story.
He goes to John’s public defender to inquire
more about the man.
According to Paul, such a child-like innocent
man must not have committed the crimes but
the defender thinks otherwise.
Paul also finds out that no one knows where
John came from because the first time he was
seen was with the girls’ dead bodies.
The next day, Paul gives John a loaf of cornbread,
thanking him for his help.
John shares the gift with Del and Mr. Jingles,
while Bill throws racist remarks at him.
For the next few days, he causes a lot of
trouble, spitting at people, urinating wherever
he likes, and disrespecting the guards.
Having had enough of his insults, the guards
wrap him up in a straitjacket and lock him
in the padded room.
In the meantime, the day of Del’s execution
is nearing.
He is not afraid of dying but is worried that
Mr. Jingles will be killed after his death.
Brutus promises to send the rat to a place
called ‘Mouseville’ in Florida where he can
work in the theater.
Later that day, Bill is put back into his
cell but he doesn’t wait before causing
more trouble.
He grabs Percy and touches him inappropriately.
Percy is soon let free but he wets himself
in the process.
Everyone decides to never speak of the humiliation
again but Percy hears Del snickering.
Hence, when he comes across Mr. Jingles that
day, he stomps on the rat and kills it.
Del is heartbroken and feels like his child
was killed.
The guards cannot do anything about it but
John asks Paul to bring Mr. Jingles closer.
He blows into his palms and resurrects the
animal from the dead.
Everyone is shocked and Del couldn’t be
more grateful.
The execution day finally comes and Percy
is put in charge of it.
Paul hopes that after killing Del, he will
finally transfer to another job.
Del is placed on the chair in front of the
audience and Percy starts the execution.
He hooks Del up to the electrodes and purposely
does not soak the sponge which is placed on
Del’s head.
This causes the poor man to struggle, and
scream in pain.
Simultaneously, John also cries as he channels
Del’s struggles into his body.
In the end, Del lights on fire, and his life
finally ends.
Afterward, Percy claims that he didn’t know
that the sponge needed to be wet.
A furious Brutus punches him at the obvious
lie.
He has to be held back to ensure he doesn’t
kill the man.
As a result of the incident, Percy is forced
to take an immediate transfer to his new job
at the mental institution.
Paul then goes to John and finds out that
he tried his best to use his powers to help
Del.
However, even after suffering so much pain,
he wasn’t able to save him.
Moreover, the pain was also felt by Mr. Jingles
who has since run away.
In the following scene, Paul and the other
guards are having a meal together.
He has just been to the warden’s house and
seen the trouble he is going through.
His wife Melinda is losing memory and becoming
violent as a result of the tumor but the man
can do nothing about it.
Hence, the guards decide to bring John to
the warden’s house to help Malinda but they
have to do it in secret since they can be
punished for letting a murderer out of prison.
The next day, they put the plan into action
and knock Bill out using a drugged glass of
beer.
They also gag Percy, put him in the straitjacket,
and lock him inside the padded room, so he
won’t tell the authorities.
When John is told about the plan, he is excited
that he gets to help someone before his death.
It further makes the guards realize how good
of a man he is.
However, on their way out, Ben, who is still
conscious, grabs John’s arm.
For some reason, John is terrified of the
man but is let go when he finally falls asleep.
Outside, John jumps in excitement to be able
to see the sky and the ground.
Upon arriving at the house, they are caught
by the warden and Paul has to explain what
they want to do.
Although the warden doesn’t believe that
a murderer like John possesses any power,
he allows them to meet his wife.
John gets very close to Melinda’s face and
sucks something out of her mouth.
As a result, the house starts to shake and
the lights shine intensely.
Seconds later, he falls down and starts coughing,
and simultaneously, Melinda sits up.
She is healthy and has no memory of anything
that happened after she was diagnosed.
This time, John is unable to free the spores
so the disease is confined within him.
Suddenly, Melinda stands up and recognizes
him.
She says that she met him in the dark and
he gave her his light.
She doesn’t understand what happened but
knows that John saved her life somehow.
Before leaving, he is given a necklace as
a thankyou present.
In prison, Percy is let free from the padded
room.
As he leaves, John grabs him through the bars
and releases the spores directly into his
mouth.
The disease transfers to Percy and makes him
hallucinate as it did to Malinda.
He walks in front of Bill’s cell and empties
his revolver into his chest.
When the other guards catch Percy, he releases
spores from his mouth.
Upon being asked why he did this, John sticks
out his hand and Paul takes it.
This makes him see that Bill was the one who
abducted the little girls who John was accused
of killing.
John knew there was no way of redemption for
the killer which is why he killed him.
Later, the police arrive to investigate the
death.
Percy is questioned but appears to be in a
catatonic state.
He is declared unfit to be on duty and is
sent to a mental hospital, ironically the
same place he was supposed to transfer to.
Meanwhile, the day of John’s execution nears.
Now that Paul knows he is innocent, he doesn’t
know what he should do.
His wife senses his dilemma and suggests he
talk to John to see what he wants.
In the following scene, John reveals that
he doesn’t want to live anymore.
He can feel the pain of all others around
him which is a blessing and curse at the same
time.
He does not want to feel the pain anymore
so executing him would be the greatest act
of mercy done upon him.
As the last request, John says he wants to
watch a movie.
On the day of the execution, John is taken
to the auditorium in front of the audience.
They berate him, calling him a murderer and
a molester.
However, the guards’ reaction is the opposite
as they watch him get strapped in tears.
Paul goes to put a cloth over his face but
John says that he is scared of the dark.
In the end, the poor man is electrocuted and
killed.
The scene changes to several years later.
Paul has grown old and lives in an old age
home consisting of many retirees.
No one is allowed to go outside since they
are prone to get lost but Paul takes long
morning walks every day.
He goes to a secluded cabin in the woods and
watches someone inside.
One afternoon, the retirees are watching an
old movie on the TV.
It is the same one that John watched as his
last wish.
It brings back memories from Paul, overwhelming
him with emotions.
He walks aside and tells the story to a fellow
retiree Elaine.
He and the other guards were transferred to
a youth corrections facility after John’s
death, unable to watch any more executions.
Later that day, Paul brings her on a walk
to a cabin in the woods.
They see a mouse living inside the cabin which
turns out to be Mr. Jingles.
When the animal felt the pain at Dale’s
execution, it gained some of John’s power
and has been living ever since.
Similarly, Paul is also 108 years old and
in good health.
This is because a fraction of John’s power
was transferred to him when they held hands
to find out the truth about the murders.
Paul has watched all his loved ones die and
feels like this is his punishment for killing
a man like John.
In the last scene, Paul is seen at Elaine’s
funeral.
He has yet again outlived a loved one.
This movie ends here.
Thank You.
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