My new favorite movie

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2006)

Before I saw this movie, it was hard for me to imagine why so many people liked it. I figured it must be one of those gritty movies that people like because of its harsh realism, but in truth it is so much more than that. In fact, I don't find it very gritty at all. I can now understand why it is the second highest movie on IMDb's Top 250 and why so many of my friends list it as their favorite movie. It is the most emotionally powerful movie I've ever seen and I doubt anything I see will top it.
Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, a man convicted of killing his wife and her lover. Morgan Freeman plays the convicted killer Ellis Redding that befriends Andy in prison. These are two very touching and true performances. Tim Robbins should have at least been nominated for an Oscar for the quiet intensity he brought to his role. He takes on the right sense of mystery required for the role and he gives the movie the conviction it needs to reach its emotional heights. Marlon Brando claimed that some roles are actor-proof- the story is so good that no actor can mess it up. This could possibly be one of those roles, but I can't help feeling that a lesser actor would have overacted and destroyed Robbins's character. Morgan Freeman was nominated, and justly so (though it is an injustice that he was chosen above Robbins; they both are equals in this movie). He complements Robbins beautifully as a stoic man that understands prison life better than anyone else. He also narrates the movie; we see things through his eyes and experience things through his words. As in Million Dollar Baby, his voice provides the movie with its thematic focus. The supporting cast is fine, but James Whitmore stands out as the prison librarian.
The actors do not make this a great movie though. They were given a great story and they lived it for us perfectly, but it is the story that lives on after the movie is over. Stephen King may be a pop fiction author, but he has an extraordinary grasp on human nature which is brought to light in Shawshank.
Marlon Brando also said that movies are good because of what we bring to them, and I suppose there's some truth in that, though there are some movies that are good no matter what- Casablanca and Citizen Kane, for example. I don't know which category this movie belongs to and I'm afraid that because I love it so much I don't trust myself to say. I can say, however, that everyone can identify with the triumph of the human spirit, and maybe that explains why it is such a beloved movie.
It really is a shame that The Shawshank Redemption came out in 1994, the same year as Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction. All three are great movies, and all three deserved Best Picture. But to me, Shawshank is the best of them all and will continue to resonate with me for a long time to come.