A film that expands (and sometimes alters) your take on the world.

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 1999)

For a simple story which can be described in two or three sentences, the emotional impact this film has is surprising. 'The Shawshank Redemption' follows the maturation of a friendship over a thirty-year period, during which two men grow close in a cruel and brutal prison in New England. Based on a story by Stephen King, that author whose work has inspired such cheesy screen fare such as 'Thinner' and 'Needful Things', the film comes as a surprise. I had always though Forrest Gump was a great movie until I saw Shawshank. One of the strongest thoughts I had after seeing this film was that we, as a society, are wrong to sentence a man to endless years in prison. A controversial view, but it makes sense when compared to the world in the film. Hope, friendship, and an unwillingness to be broken are the main messages in a story that is beautifully filmed and flawlessly acted. Tim Robbins did deserve an Academy Award much more than Tom Hanks did, and I was disappointed to see that even Morgan Freeman's excellent turn as 'Red' slipped by Academy voters. Ah well, it's the same awards panel that gave the Best Picture nod to 'Titanic'. The world does not always make sense, 'Shawshank' teaches us. Bad things happen to good people, and it's who you are after the storm has passed that show us who, and what, we are.