--- title: "The Green Mile: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-green-mile/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-green-mile" critics_score: 59 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Green Mile (1999): what the critics said Critics' score 59 from 13 reviews: 4 positive, 6 mixed, 3 negative. The reviews are mixed, with praise clustering around the performances and Frank Darabont’s careful handling of the death-row setting. Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan draw particular approval, while several critics find the ensemble gives the supernatural story emotional weight. Even some sceptical accounts acknowledge the meticulous craft, and the more favourable reviews value the stillness and unhurried storytelling that allow the relationships to develop. The disagreement is substantial: the same patience that involves some critics leaves others finding three hours excessive for a simple fable. RogerEbert.com regards the length as allowing the story to develop fully, while less persuaded reviews fault the episodic structure, heavy symbolism and insistent sentimentality. Reservations also extend to racial stereotypes and easily sorted good and bad characters. The Guardian offers the sharpest rejection, finding the death-row drama saccharine and its racial politics patronising, rather than sharing other critics’ response to its emotional appeal. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3.5/4. 10 December 1999. The critic finds the film involving and well-acted, praising its patient storytelling and strong performances, especially by Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan, while noting its length allows the story to develop fully. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-green-mile-1999) ## Total Film Rating 4/5. 3 March 2000. Darabont's old-fashioned approach yields powerful, funny, mystical and moving results with standout ensemble acting and effective stillness, though it falls short of Shawshank levels due to episodic structure and minor flaws. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-green-mile-review/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Darabont delivers a polished, confident adaptation with strong performances and meticulous direction, though it lacks the profundity and nourishment of Shawshank Redemption and feels overly long. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/green-mile-review/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 1999. The review notes the film's unhurried three-hour length can feel excessive but praises its ability to immerse viewers in the death-row setting and strong ensemble performances despite some talky stretches. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/10/movies/film-review-the-walk-on-death-row-can-seem-very-long.html) ## Sight and Sound — Rob White Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The review highlights the film's focus on grief, moral evasion, and the bond between Tom Hanks's guard and Michael Clarke Duncan's healer on death row. It praises Duncan's performance and the melancholy tone while critiquing reliance on racial stereotypes. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/535) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 29 November 1999. The critic calls the film intermittently powerful and meticulously crafted but faults its considerable over-length and simplistic notions, noting it has prestige appeal but mixed commercial prospects. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-green-mile-1117759804/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 1999. The review acknowledges the strong source material and Darabont's direction but finds the film overly long and reliant on familiar prison-drama tropes, though it benefits from solid performances. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-10-ca-42354-story.html) ## Radio Times — David McGillivray Rating 3/5. The adaptation requires suspension of disbelief but effectively manipulates emotions through the relationship between Hanks's guard and the death-row inmate, with strong support from Michael Clarke Duncan. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-m7a7qx/the-green-mile/) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic finds the film uneven, with too many plot threads and tiresome sentimental elements like the mouse scenes, though the supernatural aspects have emotional power and the production design is strong. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-green-mile) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 1999. The critic describes the film as a lengthy religious allegory centered on a gentle giant convict and a prison guard, highlighting its supernatural elements and the mouse as a symbol while critiquing its heavy-handed symbolism. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/12/20/san-fernando-aria) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 29 November 1999. The critic finds the three-hour adaptation overly self-important and ponderous due to its languorous pace, which burdens a modest fable and makes plot developments predictable. Fine performances by Tom Hanks and the ensemble are noted, but the film is seen as a tough holiday sell despite potential ancillary success. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/green-mile-review-movie-1999-1248821/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 25 February 2000. Bradshaw finds the film a three-hour stretch of saccharine gibberish and patronising racial politics. He singles out its heritage-style feelgood approach to death-row drama starring Tom Hanks as the main source of irritation. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/25/culture.peterbradshaw1) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic finds the film overly sentimental and soft, with easy-to-spot good and bad characters and excessive emotion that clogs the narrative. While acknowledging its place among films against capital punishment and praising the cast including Tom Hanks, the review notes that at three hours it feels like too much of a good thing. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-green-mile-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-green-mile.md