Actually, the most moving moment in this movie, for me, came when the elderly James Whitmore character, recently paroled and realizing that he's not going to be able to make it in the so-called "normal" world after a lifetime in confinement, carves his name into a wooden beam before hanging himself. Actually had me tearing up, and that seldom happens at the movies anymore, particularly at a movie based on a Stephen King novel. Maybe it was because Whitmore is such a venerable and accomplished actor. Not to put down the movie itself...surprisingly, it wasn't a bad movie (again, maybe because it had great actors in it), and there are very, VERY few good movies made from any Stephen King novel ("Dead Zone" is another example, but then almost any movie done by David Cronenberg is good, or at least interesting).

Usually sappy endings make me want to barf, but I was genuinely moved by this one.

A touching and triumphant ending. It is rare that a film can dig so deep into one's darkness and become optimistic. Great moral: Never give up.

This is the only movie I know that can take you to such a terrible place emotionally, and still, at the end he triumphs. Truly an amazing film, and one of my favorites. I could do without the language, but I'm sure it's accurate to real life so I don't know what to think. Ohh well. Excellent movie.