Friday Movie Review: The Green Starring Cheyenne Jackson, Jason Butler Harner & Julia Ormond

When a friend first mentioned the movie I’m reviewing today to me, The Green, I was distracted and only half listening. At first I thought she was talking about the adaptation of the Stephen King book starring Tom Hanks, The Green Mile. She asked me if I had seen it. I said, “Of course, hasn’t everyone? It’s been out for, like, 15 years!”

Needless to say, she laughed at me and told me I didn’t listen very well. Properly chastised, I asked her what movie she was really talking about and she started to tell me about “The Green” starring Cheyenne Jackson (a male for the uninitiated) and Jason Butler Harner in the leading roles. Though the two films are wildly different in some respects (no mystical, magic powers in this one a la Stephen King), they do have some striking similarities.

My friend, who does not know when to shut up – and thus the reason I only half listen to her sometimes – gave me the entire blow by blow of the plot to include the ending. I watched the movie for myself anyway and I enjoyed it but I really wish she hadn’t given away the ending. I won’t do that to you here!

“The green” in the title refers to areas of Connecticut away from the hustle and bustle of city life especially the areas that are not easily accessible from New York City. Our leading actors, Harner and Jackson as Michael and Daniel respectively, are a gay couple that move to a small town in a rural Connecticut area to get away from said city life. Michael takes a teaching position at a private high school and Daniel owns and operates a catering business. All goes well for awhile as they go about their lives and they don’t rock the boat.

Michael is not out at school but, people being astute, begin to talk. Soon he is accused, falsely, of being involved with a male student, Jason. The false accusations against him are where I draw parallels to the movie The Green Mile though these, not being accusations of murder, are slightly tamer. An old “crime” resurfaces and makes things difficult for our hero and for his relationship with Daniel. Small town homophobia rears its ugly head and things for Michael go from bad to very, very grim. Julia Ormond enters the picture as the ultra competent, kick butt lawyer set on exonerating Michael (who, for purposes of the movie plot is in a lesbian relationship…just in the movie ladies, sorry).

I give this one an A+. It’s a great, believable story that is well cast and well acted as a result of the casting. There are lessons to be learned here but it’s entertaining, interesting, and engrossing even if you’re just watching to watch.