Ep749: Page2Screen: THE GREEN MILE

Ian and Cole execute one of their finest "Page2Screen" shows with a look at The Green MIle!

Stephen King's serialized 1996 novel follows the guards in a Depression-era southern prison who welcome two new guests on death row. One is a convicted murderer with magical powers; the other is a highly intelligent mouse who takes a...shining to one of the inmates.

Despite a sprinkling of the supernatural, The Green MIle finds King returning to the rich well of insightful male-bonding storytelling that he exhibited in "The Body" (which was adapted into the film Stand By Me) and "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (shortened to simply The Shawshank Redemption for the big screen).

In this detailed discussion, the guys look at Frank Darabont's film adaptation as a moving yet puzzling take on the book. From the excising of a poignant bookend device, to the stripping of every female character's agency/poignancy, and an unforced error in fully realizing King's grand thesis of man's relationship to the divine--there's a lot to talk about (including an especially effective addition to the story on Darabont's part)!

Show Links:

• Watch The Green MIle trailer.

• Keep up with all of Cole's literary criticism at The Quill to Live.

• And read his most recent Tor.com articles:

  • "Five Book-to-Screen Adaptations That Carved Out Their Own Identity"

  • "What I Learned from Breaking Up with D&D"

• Check out Cole's TikTok channel, BookRush.

• Start your own "Page2Screen" journey with

  • The Green MIle novel

  • Warner Bros' recently released 4K Ultra HD release of the film

• As a bonus, check out Kicking the Seat Podcast #407 to hear Ian and Mike Crowley of YPA Reviews discuss Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption!

• Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!