Three hours, 10 minutes.
In between everything that will be said about The Green Mile in the coming weeks, all the debate about whether it or its main star Tom Hanks are Oscar worthy, one thing will remain constant.
Three hours, 10 minutes.
For the bladder-challenging running time of horror writer Stephen King's screen adaptation of his best-selling serialized novel is as much a part of this film as is Hanks.
And we're not talking about a Titanic, oh-my-where-did-the-time-go type of running time. At a preview screening, a ghastly blue light could be seen flashing throughout the theatre as Indiglo watches were repeatedly checked for the time.
But then, who said life on death row was supposed to be a party.
As mentioned, The Green Mile is based on King's story of life on death row in 1935 as told in flashback style by Paul Edgecomb (Hanks), the head guard at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary in Louisiana.
The Green Mile refers to the colour of the linoleum flooring that leads to the electric chair, but in metaphorical terms, is the road we all walk in life, one that inevitably ends in death.
Edgecomb's road has landed him in an old folks home in present day, where he recalls to one of the residents the tale of John Coffey, a 7-foot, 350-pound inmate awaiting death for the rape and murder of two young girls.
While the evidence seems clear Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan of Armageddon) committed the crime, the gentle giant's demeanour leaves Edgecomb in doubt.
Everything about the man -- right down to the colour of his skin -- sets him apart from the three other inmates awaiting execution, and when he performs what can only be described as a miracle, all the guards begin to question his guilt.
But how they act on those feelings -- or more accurately, how they don't -- is where the film sputters and prevents it from ever really taking off. Surely with the possible second coming of Christ in your midst, someone would say something to the outside world.
That major plot fault aside, the ensemble acting in this film is terrific. The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont has proven he knows how to handle a large cast and this film is no different.
Hanks lends to Edgecomb the same intelligence, grace and natural leadership he instilled in John Miller in Saving Private Ryan. In fact, Hanks has become so adept at these parts it's time he took on the role of a heel to prove he is in fact just acting.
Duncan is the embodiment of innocence while Doug Hutchson, who X-Files fans will recognize from his role as the creature able to crawl through air vents, threatens to steal the show as the sadistic guard Percy Wetmore.
But still it comes back to that three-hour, 10-minute thing.
Before the lights dimmed, there was a palpable sense The Green Mile wasn't just going to be a movie, it was going to be an event. In the end, it was just okay.
Three-hour, 10-minute epics shouldn't just be okay.
(This film is rated AA)
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