The Shawshank Redemption --- Written by Stephen King, Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman

These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways. -- Morgan Freeman as the character Red

Andy Dufresne is being sent to prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. On the outside he is a banker that has walked the straight and narrow life up until this point. He isn't the type of person that could survive in a prison, and as we see him being led in along with a group of other convicts, you get the feeling that he could topple over at any moment. He claims to be innocent of the crimes, and is a very defeated man as he is being led into Shawshank prison. Shawshank is located in Maine, and is home to thieves, murderers, and worse, and it seems like the last place you would see someone like Andy Dufresne (pronounced Due-Frain). Watching them walk in is a group of convicts that we will get to know throughout the movie, with their unofficial leader Red, being played by Morgan Freeman. Red is the man who can get anything for you, be it cigarettes, candy, or anything else you can think of. He is the supplier of anything you would want smuggled into the prison, and this niche that he has is quite an important one in the realm of prison-life. He has a really unique outlook on life, having been in Shawshank for quite a while now, and also serves as a narrator for the story that we are about to see unfold.

The Shawshank Redemption is really a story about hope and perseverance and just how important those qualities can be to a man that has been incarcerated for the rest of his life. It is Andy’s hope that somehow, someway, he will be able to prove his innocence and get a second trial that could let him go back to his former life. The thing is though, that he really doesn't have that much of a life to go back to, and that fact can cause a man even more stress during a time like this. The unfortunate part, is that the people he is put into the prison with don't believe for a second what he has to say about his past. As one character put it, "everyone in here is innocent." Most of the criminals in the prison still haven't owned up to what they have done, nor sought redemption for the crimes they have been accused. But when Andy becomes one of them, you can see a shift in how just about every one of the characters in this story thinks and feels. They see something inside of Andy that not only gives them an added "energy", but also gives them a hope and enjoyment of life that had been missing for a while. It is actually amazing how well that this facet of the story was written, and how we get to see many of the characters start to develop before our very eyes. Beneath the surface of the story being shown to us, we can take part in many of the triumphs of these people, and see the emotions that they are going through daily.

Tim Robbins stars as the main character Andy, with Morgan Freeman being his new friend and confidant Red. Together they form a friendship that goes way beyond just hanging-out, and you can see that a love develops between the two of them, to the point that they would do anything for one another. Now, I am not talking about a love between two men, but a love that can evolve between two great friends. That becomes a center-piece to this story, because it shows just how valuable a simple thing like friendship can be to two people that will be in jail for the rest of their lives. It is the type of relationship that only comes along once in a long while, and the minute it happens, you realize that you have a lot to learn from that other person. This is where the term "Redemption" springs up in the film, and you will come back to this point when the movie is over, and realize just how great the story was at depicting it. That is only part of this great movie though, as we get to see many sub-plot brew up about the daily life of a prison, and how you not only have to watch where you step, but be careful about the people that you befriend or hang around. Danger can be around any corner, and the only way to avoid it is to escape the situation in your mind, and hope for better things.

In my opinion, The Shawshank Redemption is a simply outstanding film from the opening sequences to the closing credits. The story is strong, the acting is as good as it gets, and the message of hope buried within the text of the film stands out amongst everything good this movie has to offer. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman put in the best acting of their long careers, and I cannot say enough about how they bring these two characters to life for the viewer. The story seems like a simple one about convicts in Shawshank prison, but as the movie progresses, you find yourself tied to the story of the two main protagonists, and you begin to feel everything that they are feeling. The mixture of great writing and great acting takes the film up a notch, and leads it to become very emotional and very moving at the same time. It came out back in 1994, but even when I watch it now, I am in awe at how well the story was laid out as well as how well it was presented on film. There are many elements to the story, that even if you don't catch them the first time, make it an interesting film to view a second time. I highly recommend this as a film that you must see, and that if you do give it a chance, you will find that it is simply film making at its very best.


This was one of my choices of The Best Films of All Time