A spark of hope in another wise gloomy past, present and future

Rating: Null/10 (6 May 2013)

The Shawshank Redemption, a movie about hope, friendship and the will one person has to overcome unfair odds. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a young banking executive accused of killing his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in Shawshank Prison. In Andy's time spent at Shawshank prison, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman) who also serves as the narrator of the film. Expressing his feelings towards Andy and the experiences both of them encounter at Shawshank prison. The real question is will Andy and Red find salvation at Shawshank Prison or let the overbearing dark walls confine them to a life of being institutionalized?
The setting naturally calls for the dark gloomy hopelessness one would experience in a prison. The lighting and color palette used in the film definitely cater to this feeling as dark shadowing and earthy dark colors are used throughout the film to amplify this feeling of hopelessness. There is not a stitch of color that is bright and vibrant throughout the scenes filmed in the prison. To counteract this theme of hopelessness Andy is the bright light at the end of the tunnel as it seems to neither bother him nor affect his outlook by being confined by the Gothic walls that surround the lives and men in the prison. This holds a symbolism of hope when everything seems bleak and doomed. This helps holds the audience's attention as the subconscious sense of hope remains despite the obvious dark overtones. Throughout the film Andy's hope and faith are tested as many obstacles seem to overcome but never breaks his faith. Early this can be exemplified in the film by the constant conflicts with the "sisterhood" and later by the hope that his name can be cleared and be released from prison based on another's testimony to the actual events that sent him there in the first place. This becomes an extremely relief for Andy until that hope is shattered by other means. This would normally break the spirit of any man, but within Andy we find strength and hope not only within him but the hope he bestows unto his fellow inmates.
The film itself is by far one of the best I have ever seen and from my experience is either highly praised or has never been seen by the general public. The fact that this movie is on IMDb's top 250 movies to see does not surprise me since it is riveting and holds meaning that many can relate to and very few can ignore.