Gripping and uplifting

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2009)

I saw this movie for the first time when it came on television earlier this month. After seeing it at #1 on the IMDb Top 250, I thought this would be a good opportunity to check it out. The story was gripping and I especially liked the pacing, with the story moving along at a quick pace, covering years in a matter of minutes. The film was quite gritty and realistic throughout but started losing that quality as it started feeling more like a fairy tale towards the end.
Although the story was initially focused on Andy, it later became quite apparent that Red was the true protagonist, who Morgan Freeman portrayed in one of his best performances to date. I believe Morgan Freeman deserved an Oscar for his performance, although he lost it to Tom Hanks, who gave an equally great performance in Forrest Gump that same year.
Although I disagree with The Shawshank Redemption's ranking at #1 on the IMDb Top 250, I believe it is worthy enough to at least be among the top 100 films. If I had to sum up the film in one sentence, I would say it is a very gripping and uplifting film to watch.
8/10