Stephen King's best adaptation

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2003)

I was one of the many movie-goers who saw The Shawshank Redemption without being aware it was a Stephen King story, and so had the pleasure of seeing the movie without prior expectations.
The Shawshank Redemption is, without doubt, the finest conversion from book to film of a Stephen King story. Perhaps because 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption' (which can be found in the Different Seasons book) is short, and thus has less for the film makers to put on the screen.
Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins deliver faultless performances as a hardened criminal (Freeman) and a man pleading innocence (Robbins), and the supporting cast of criminals and guards does a brilliant job of creating a world full of repentent criminals, cruel wardens, and (without spoiling anything) 'less than friendly' cons.
What makes The Shawshank Redemption such a memorable movie is that it manages to create characters that the viewer loves, in a scenario and location where you'd never expect to find them. These characters, despite their faults, have you hoping for the best but fearing for the worst for the entirety of the movie. Fans of King will no doubt be familiar with the way he can create such characters, but the feat is rarely carried over onto the screen.
I like a movie that can stimulate emotion in me, and The Shawshank Redemption did that. There are things to laugh at, scenes to flinch away from (although nothing like American History X), and most importantly for the film, things that make you want to cry in a mixture of disbelief and shock.
A brilliant movie, and worthy of the Oscar nomination it got and probably should have won.
See if you liked: American History X, The Green Mile, Life is Beautiful. Strengths: Brilliant cast, excellent story-telling, King's usual attention to realism. Weaknesses: None. My Rating: 9.5 out of 10