Very Good Movie

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2001)

Frank Darabont, writer and director of 'The Shawshank Redemption' has done a really good job with this movie. I have never read the Stephen King short story but I would imagine that it and the movie are pretty similar. First of all the screenplay is what contributes most to the movie. The relationship between Andy Dufresne, an eccentric loner, and 'Red', a popular and lively person, itself makes for an excellent story but with the prison environment and the other interesting charaters involved, the movie is even much better. This film is pretty much dominated by the characters. The movie takes place over about 20 years and in that time the film not only focuses on Andy and 'Red' but other characters that leave and arrive. 'The Shawshank Redemption' is a character film. I've never thought that Tim Robbins has been a good actor but this does not bring down the movie. Morgan Freeman acts excellently as usual and William Sadler and Bob Gunton also give excellent performances. The cinematography and music for this film are also actually noticable.
The mood of 'The Shawshank Redemption' in my opinion has been created spot on. The movie balances well between lighter and darker incidents and after the movie was finished I had a feeling of satisfaction. The film is filled with many scenes that are a delight to watch and every different event that is emphasised in the movie are not only interesting elements of the film but also contributes to the overall movie, in that they change and effect Andy's feelings of his place in the Shawshank prison. I can't believe that this film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and didn't win any. If ever I had to say that a film was completely perfect, 'The Shawshank Redemption' would be it.