Garry Senise, Of Mice and Men (1992)

Discussion questions:

1. How (by what cinematic means) does the film introduce the main characters, George and Lennie? Why are they together? Are they alike?

2. How does the director make us sympathetic toward Lennie?

3. Why is Curley’s wife never given a personal name? What is her role in the film?

4. How does the director develop the theme of loneliness? Who is lonely in the film?

5. Dogs figure prominently in the film, which opens and closes by dogs’ barking and has a number of episodes featuring dogs. How does the director utilize the canine imagery? Can we talk of a canine theme in the film?

6. What is the role of Crooks in the film?

7. Can Lennie be judged by the laws of the standards of the normal society?

8. What is the meaning of this title?

Frank Darabont, The Green Mile (1999)

Discussion questions:

1. Comment on the opening scene. Why does the film begin with the chase?

2. Comment on the composition of this film. How many planes do we have in this narrative? Who is the narrator? Why does this narration take place?

3. Who is the main character in this film? Why do you think so?

4. What kind of person is John Coffey? Why when we first see him, we see his body but not face? How do we learn about his crime and personality? What is our initial impression? How does it change in the course of the film? Why does it change?

5. Discuss the crew of the prison guards. Are they believable?

6. How does this film present miracles?

7. How does Coffey’s innocence come to the fore? Does Paul share his discovery about John Coffey’s innocence with his colleagues? Who, if anyone, becomes his trustee?

8. Why does Paul Edgecomb see Coffey’s lawyer? Why does not Edgecomb seek justice?

9. What do we know about the crimes of the convicts? Is this information important?

10. Discuss the theme of the capital punishment. What is its role and place in the film? How many executions are there in the film? How do they differ and why? What role do the audiences play in each execution?

11. Why did not Paul Edgecomb and other guards get rid of Percy earlier? Is his presence “upfront” well motivated? What is the role of this character in the film?

12. What is the role of Mr. Jingles in the film’s narrative?

13. Why does not John Coffey seek justice? Why does not he defend himself?

14. How many people are punished in this film? Comment on the agents and the executions of their punishments. Why is Paul Edgecomb punished by life? Why does insanity become Percy’s lot?

15. Comment on the meaning of the Green Mile in the film.