Not your usual Stephen King story

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2007)

The Shawshank Redemption is based on a story by Stephen King, but if you know what King usually writes about, you will be totally surprised by this film. There are no monsters or creepy crawlies at all. No, instead we are given a story about prison life that involves our two central characters, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), both of whom are convicted of multiple life sentences in Shawshank Prison.
Andy is a banker whose life is turned upside down when he is convicted of murdering both his wife and her lover. Sentenced to 2 life prisons, Andy does his best to survive by using his skills as a banker and accountant to move up in the prison world. He soon gains respect from his fellow inmates, especially Red, and not long after both he and Red become good friends. I was never sure what Red was imprisoned for, and though the story is mainly about Andy, Red's role is just as important. Kudos to Morgan Freeman, who gives one of his best performances ever.
The movie is well over two hours long, but I was never bored. Frank Darabont, the director and writer of the screenplay, keeps things interesting throughout. The pacing is perfect, and the actors, all of them, kept me engaged in the story. The movie also has some twists and turns which when finally revealed are perfect and add to the film's excitement.
The dialog is one of the most important aspects of the film and one of the films strongest points. We may have never learned much about the prison guards or the warden, but we got enough of an idea about them to be satisfied because of the dialog and because of the actors who played those parts. Also dialog is vital in Andy and Red's friendship. Without it, and the great work by the two actors, the film wouldn't have been quite as strong.
The only flaw I could find in the story would be in the prison terms for both men. If they are both imprisoned for multiple life sentences, how come they never seem to age over the years? It is a small problem, but it takes away some of the reality of the movie, and so I can't quite give it the perfect rating. Other than that, this is still and incredible movie going experience.
Note: I see that Shawshank Redemption is sitting pretty at #2 on IMDb's top 250. I'm not sure it deserves to be that high, but that doesn't stop it from still being superior to many other films on that list.