Excellent Movie

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2004)

This is a very fine movie that was unfortunately somewhat overlooked when it was first released. Word of mouth and critical acclaim has resulted in the movie becoming one of the best known and loved films of recent times.

The story tells of the imprisonment of Andy Dufresne (Robbins) at the harsh Shawshank prison. Gradually over time he befriends Red (Freeman) who is the fixer in the prison who can get hold of any items at a price. Andy channels his frustration into making things better at the prison. The smallest achievement is celebrated and used as impetus for the next challenge. The film should really make the viewer treasure the things that we all take for granted on a day to day basis. The other interesting aspect of the film is the institutionalisation as portrayed with Brooks. he has been in prison for so long he cannot (and does not want to) survive on the outside. 9/10