Incredibly moving, funny and haunting

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2006)

Where to begin on how to comment on one of the most beautiful, haunting, tragic yet slightly comical films in creation? This film is absolutely groundbreaking and deserves its place amongst all the greats of Cinema History. Complete with an amazing cast, a wonderful soundtrack and a storyline that will leave you mesmerised for years after your first viewing, this film is truly incredible.
The film focuses on a man called Andy Dufresne, an intelligent banker who is accused of murdering his wife and her lover, and is consequentially sentenced to two life sentences in Shawshank Prison. Andy soon befriends a man named Red, a man imprisoned for murder, and runs an underground syndicate to help his friends get a hold of things from outside prison.
Andy manages to help the guards of Shawshank Prison with their personal financial problems using his knowledge as a Banker, and an unlikely 'friendship' emerges, and soon Prison life doesn't seem so bleak for Andy. As Andy's journey through his life sentence grows, so does his friendship with Red, and he soon discovers what effects the walls of Shawshank have on the people in the prison after a series of unexpected and tragic events.
Andy's personality soon earns him new friends as he begins to change people, fundamentally, without knowing how, as he spreads new lessons, both comically and psychologically, and soon Andy turns into a much more intelligent man than we may have realised him to be at first.
As time goes on, Andy resolves to make Shawshank Prison friendlier and he works relentlessly to improve life for the prisoners and for the guards. But, as he continues to work hard for the good of others, he begins to learn the shocking truths of what the true colours of the guards and the Warden of Shawshank are. Revelations all come to the fore when Andy discovers some information which may prove him to be the innocent guy he has always claimed to be, and Andy's life takes a serious turn, and the consequences are dire for everybody as Andy's decisions become more and more unpredictable.
Based on a short book by Stephen King, this film has hardly any faults at all, and is full of beauty, tragedy and comedy, and has a haunting presence as Morgan Freeman gives what is possibly the best performance he has ever given, and Tim Robbins excels as the tormented Andy. But, what makes this film go down in history isn't just the amazing script and the wonderful acting, but the film contains one of the most beautiful Soundtracks I have ever known, written by Thomas Newman. Many of the tunes are simplistic, yet very memorable, and they all perfectly reflect the dilemmas and situations the characters of the film find themselves in.
This film is not afraid to shock people with its subtle shifts in the personalities of characters, and how a situation of comedy and hope may suddenly change to a tragedy beyond what you may have originally expected. This film is a true classic. This is a work of art which is endlessly re-experiencable with painful pleasure.