The Green Mile

The Green Mile (1999)

1 commented-on entry since 12 Dec '24, 05:47

(27 votes)

Question: How long will Old Paul live for?

Answer: At the end of the movie, it's discovered that Mr. Jingles is 64 years old. This is about sixteen times the life span of a regular mouse. Since this logic could apply to Paul, he could live anywhere between 1,300 and 1,500 years.

Nice idea but the math ain't mathin'. Your equation presumes that Mr. Jingles dies at age 64. But he is still alive! It seems more likely that John Coffey gave Paul and Mr. Jingles an indefinite natural life. They live forever unless something kills them. I'm sure if Paul was in a plane explosion over the Atlantic, he would die.

This is actually much simpler than either one of you are making it out to be: the answer is, there is no answer. We know that Paul and Mr Jingles are going to live longer lives because of John Coffey, and anything beyond that is pure speculation. I think this was intentionally left vague to keep the audience without a clear answer to Paul's fate, just like Paul is left without a clear answer.

jshy7979

It is implied in one of the very last shots that Mr. Jingles dies. Furthermore, Paul specifically says in the voice-over that he will not have an indefinite life, just an extended life.

Answer: Paul and the mouse both aged considerably. No one ever said they weren't aging, just that the power from John was making them live extremely long lives.

MovieFan612

Answer: If Paul could live to be that old then he would still be looking young. He would not be looking like a centenarian.

Gravity is relentless.

MovieFan612

Answer: Since John Coffey was able to die via execution, we can assume that Paul could be killed. This means that, like John, Paul would have to choose to die. All we know is that John gave Paul a piece of himself - perhaps that piece was immortality?

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: How can you tell his jaw is slack when he had a hood over it the entire time?

lartaker1975

I have the movie and during Del's execution, the hood is partially burned off. After he finally dies, his jaw is completely slack.

I also have the movie and can confirm that not only is Del's jaw slack but, when the hood is burned off it looks like most of his face has been burned off leaving nothing but a skull. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh3u3Kqdynw.

Suggested correction: Rigor mortis can occur as quickly as 2 hours after death. One of the first muscles of the body to stiffen is the jaw. It also depends on the age of the deceased and calcium amount.

lionhead

Suggested correction: The guards would have done what they could to make his remains less grotesque. Closing his jaw is probably one of their regular duties.

MovieFan612

Once the body dies, muscles can not constrict, and they relax. A guard could never close the jaw or mouth after death anymore than he could close a dead man's eyes shortly after death. That's a movie myth.

Bishop73

More mistakes in The Green Mile

Paul Edgecomb: On the day of my judgment, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
John Coffey: You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done. I know you hurtin' and worryin', I can feel it on you, but you oughta quit on it now. Because I want it over and done. I do. I'm tired, boss. Tired of bein' on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we's coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?
Paul Edgecomb: Yes, John. I think I can.

More quotes from The Green Mile

Trivia: In order for Michael Clarke Duncan to look like he's 7ft as in the book, they made him many different things such as walking on a wooden plank throughout the film and making a smaller electric chair just for him. He was also given a small bed during the scenes in his cell. When he's seen with the two dead little girls, they're actually a 7th smaller than the real girls to make him look much bigger.

More trivia for The Green Mile

Question: Why does Percy like to bully Delacroix so much? Does he hate foreigners?

Answer: No. Percy is just a typical bully who abuses his power and enjoys picking on people he thinks are weak plus, as a guard, he can do it all he wants without facing any form of punishment.

Answer: Percy was also struggling with the homosexual tendencies of Delacroix. Further evident when Wild Bill grabs him and says some nasty things to him.

MovieFan612

More questions & answers from The Green Mile

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