"The Shawshank Redemption"

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2005)

Now this is why we go to movies. I'm surprised at how this film flopped when it was first released in 1994 and yet 11 years later, it's considered one of the greatest movies of all time. I think it's the greatest movie of all time (sorry, to all of those who think that title goes to "The Godfather"). Yet, here is a movie that in all instances should have failed. Maybe it was because of the plot, which shared too many likenesses to every cliché prison drama we've ever seen. But I assure you, that's not what goes on here. Directed by Frank Darabont, who wrote the film's script, which is an adaptation of the Stephen King short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," "The Shawshank Redemption" is filled with a strong sense of self-worth and purpose. Yes, in the beginning a man named Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted for a murder he did not commit. Behind the walls of Shawshank penitentiary, Andy finds himself the victim (a "fish" - prison slang for a new arrival) of violent acts by other hardcore convicts. He begins a tentative friendship with a fellow lifer, Red (Morgan Freeman, in an Oscar-nominated role), and Andy finds himself doing the taxes of the warden (Bob Gunton). In all of this, we know that a man, like Andy, is not meant to be locked up, whether he committed a heinous crime or not because simply, the human spirit is not meant to kept down by mortal circumstances. This lends a great amount of weight and structure to the film's most powerful image, which has ingrained itself indelibly into our minds. This movie carefully avoids clichés, and it's the better for it. Tim Robbins is a revelation in this movie, as is Morgan Freeman and the rest of the supporting players. "The Shawshank Redemption" is a film about hope in even the most bleak of places, which could be considered prison. It's a movie that has rightfully earned a place in cinematic history as a legend and a masterpiece of film. It's no wonder why.
10/10