Hope springs eternal, it truly sets you free in this movie

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2006)

Possibly the best role Tim Robbins ever took on, that of quiet and mild-mannered Andy Dufresne, a convict wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover.
In this situation, he meets "Red," played wonderfully by Morgan Freeman, as well as all his friends including Heywood, Floyd, and Brooks, played by James Whitmore. Through the narration of Red we see the changes in Andy as he builds a huge library, helps young Tommy earn his High School Diploma, gets the cons some beer from one of the "meanest screws to ever walk a turn at Shawshank," played again by Clancy Brown, one of the greatest living actors in film today. Through it all Andy also endures torture of a different sort from Warden Norton, a role of villainy played brilliantly as Robbins character by Bob Gunton. We see Andy as he goes from doing the tax returns to actually laundering the Warden's money. One of the most endearing lines: "Outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to learn to be a crook." This movie is as good as the Green Mile, if not better. And that's hard to do. From it we see hope in the eyes of the hopeless as Andy's actions give that to them. I give it a 10 out of 10, got out and get it today. I promise you'll love it.