My second favorite movie of all time

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2006)

Shawshank is one of the only movies I have ever scored as 10 out of 10. I had read the Stephen King short long before I saw the movie, and loved it, but had no idea going into the movie that it was the same story. Halfway thru the movie I finally put two and two together and almost jumped out of my seat at the theater to say "OMG, I love this story!" Fortunately I managed to resist and hide the fact that I'm totally freaking insane for at least one more day...
But I digress. The movie stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufraine, a man convicted of murdering his wife. He is sentenced to life at Shawshank prison. Although convicted of the same type of brutal crime as his fellow inmates, it quickly becomes apparent that Andy is an oddity at Shawshank. Highly educated, quiet and philosophical, Andy is initially a source of curiosity and unease to his fellow inmates but is soon befriended by Ellis 'Red' Redding, played by Morgan Freeman, and quickly becomes one of their own.
Without giving too much away, the movie follows Andy's life in prison, as narrated by Freeman, as he finds a way to both survive and hold on to a shred of his humanity in a place that seeks to rob him of both. Andy learns, for example, to bargain with what he has (i.e. his financial knowledge) for what he needs. Initially, many of the things Andy acquires during the course of the film seem to have little value, but you realize by the end of the film that what he has asked for has had value beyond measure, both in the pragmatic sense and in a deeper philosophical sense.
The movie is at its core an exploration of what it is to be human. It is about loss, regret, perseverance, friendship, and ultimately, faith. How do we deal with the mistakes that we have made in life? How do we recover when life beats us down? And how can we seek strength in our connections to others? These are all ideas that Shawshank looks at. It is alternately funny, tragic, violent, and inspirational. Probably one of the best stories King ever wrote and without question one of the best films ever made.