All about the story. Inspiring for most, but not for skeptics.

Rating: 8/10 (21 September 2014)

This is not a movie to be watched just for the heck of it. You can't just stumble upon it as you can when looking for an action or comedy movie. Not to say that it can't happen, but if you're going to watch this movie, you have to focus on it and watch it all the way through within a week. I don't know if it is a good representation of modern prisons or prisons from the time it takes place, but regardless of that, you feel for the two protagonists. I found the predicament of Andy to be completely horrific and unfair (though I wish I could find a better word to use here than "unfair"). Some people might find the message of hope to be kind of corny, which is a view that I can understand but don't share and I'm a guy that finds many things to be corny. The life of the prisoners is brutal, partly because of the guards, but partly because of the conduct of the prisoners. Andy is easy to sympathize with, but also easy to root for because of his perseverance and hope. I like Morgan Freeman's character, Red, too. There is an air of dignity that sets him and Andy apart from the other prisoners. The one rather implausible character point that I found was Andy's selflessness. His ability to sympathize with his fellow inmates and his willingness to better their lives does not necessarily do anything to his desire for the same benefits that they reap. His motive is certainly to help his fellow inmates, but I don't feel like he would as a human just let his hard earned rewards be wasted. The one other main character is the warden, who can either be viewed as a good heartless villain or a guy that the screenwriters forced a mean personality onto with no good reason. I'm not saying that either one is true, it just depends on where you're coming from. I read another review that criticizes the way the warden's quoting of the bible is sort of demonized and was a biased act by the producers. Personally, I disagree with that, because there are plenty of people in real life who use biblical passages and religious motives as an excuse to do bad things. One thing about his character that I didn't really understand was why he is so reluctant to let Andy go free. The story is rather like that of Mr. Holland's Opus in the sense that it is divided up by the minor characters that come and go throughout. You can see how Andy and Red make a difference in the lives of the other inmates and each other. The mystery of how Andy escapes at the end is pretty good, but not something that requires you to have remembered a lot of things from earlier to understand. For anyone considering watching it, I would recommend that you watch it alone or with someone who won't talk through it. Also, don't watch it if you're looking for anything outside of a good or emotional story. Overall Rating: 8.9/10