1999, 3 hrs 5 min., Rated R for violence, language and some sex-related material. Dir: Frank Darabont. Cast: Tom Hanks (Paul Edgecomb), David Morse (Brutus "Brutal" Howell), Michael Clarke Duncan (John Coffey), Doug Hutchison (Percy Wetmore), Michael Jeter (Eduard Delacroix), Sam Rockwell ("Wild Bill" Wharton), Bonnie Hunt (Jan Edgecomb), James Cromwell (Wardon Hal Moores), Barry Pepper (Dean Stanton), Patricia Clarkson (Melinda Moores), Harry Dean Stanton (Toot-Toot).

I have no qualms about saying The Green Mile has the best ensemble cast this year, even more so than what remains my favorite film of the year, American Beauty. The smallest roles are meaningful and powerful, such as the renowned Harry Dean Stanton's role as a less-than-sane inmate, or Gary Sinise's cameo as John Coffey's pleasantly racist defense attorney.

Tom Hanks delivers another winning performance as the head guard of The Green Mile, a.k.a. E Block, Death Row, in a Louisiana prison. Hanks' Paul Edgecomb is sympathetic to the prisoners in their final days, acknowledging that their debt to society is being paid in full, and being hostile or cruel to them does not make him or them feel any better.

Michael Clarke Duncan, as Coffey, proves that he has more range than "look seven feet tall and make the audience love you." He's burly yet soft, strong yet sensitive, huge yet small and shows every motion he feels on his tired and worn face.

But I can't say that Duncan deserves an Oscar outright for Supporting Actor, because the award could just as well go to Doug Hutchison for his turn as Percy Wetmore, the weasely guard who is protected from any punishment since he is the nephew of the governor's wife. Hutchison makes Percy an easy guy to hate; yet you have an understanding of what makes him tick.

Actually, the Supporting Actor category could well be filled by five Green Mile-ers. I could add Michael Jeter's condemned Cajun who befriends a talented mouse, or Edgecomb's best friend and fellow guard, Brutal (Morse), as well as Bonnie Hunt, who plays Hanks' wife, Jan. All are surefire talents and worthy of a mention during award season.

PLOT: John Coffey, a seven-foot tall black man, is accused of raping and killing two young white girls and sentenced to death. But would God let a murderer have such a gift to perform miracles?

The Green Mile is one of the few by author Stephen King that is not horror-oriented. Like his previous work and acclaimed picture (also directed by Frank Darabont), The Shawshank Redemption, it takes place in a prison, skillfully mixing the harshness of the prison's purpose with the personal struggles of its inhabitants.

There are two powerful scenes involving Old Sparky, the jail's electric chair. Darabont evokes emotions from the audience, but does not feel the need to stoop to showing grotesque shots of the inmate's electrocution, even when one is botched. I appreciate that. I'm not implying that it's not uncomfortable, just not bloody or stomach churning.

Which brings me to another controversy. Some might see The Green Mile and change their opinion of death penalty to the negative. I did not.

I'm still in favor of it, and feel that if others truly thought about why the men are electrocuted, rather than succumb to the sympathetic men they are portrayed in the film, opinions might not change. I'm know all viewers are happy when one of the characters dies, because he "deserved it." But we aren't told why the other two are sentenced to death, and I believe if we were let in on their crimes, we would not feel sorry for them.

The Green Mile is one of the best films of 1999, a very good year for film indeed. See this movie. Don't be turned off by the three-hour length, because it's a miraculous journey, and if you're like me, you won't be able to figure out when to go to the bathroom because every scene is important.