Outstanding film of any time

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2005)

When Andy Dufresne, a young and successful banker, discovers his wife in bed with another man his life takes a dramatic turn for the worse. When the lovers' bodies are discovered, shot repeatedly with bullets from a gun linked to Andy, he becomes wrongly imprisoned. Sent to a maximum security prison run by a corrupt and over-zealous religious warden he struggles to hang on to hope of returning to the outside world and reclaiming a sense of normality. After a period of isolation he finally approaches one of the other inmates, a convict called Red who is the only person in Shawshank Prison guilty of their crime. What begins as a business partnership between two characters, who would be unlikely to cross paths in the real world, quickly turns into a lifelong friendship. Together they manage to fight impossible odds to survive and prove that both hope and the possibility for redemption never die.
I have heard many people rave about 'The Shawshank Redemption' over the years but have only just gotten around to watching it myself, and the praise heaped upon this film scarcely do it justice. This is not just the story of a man wrongly imprisoned, or the astonishing reality of life behind bars, but an emotional drama which reels you in from the onset. The movie is quite lengthy however I found myself unable to press the stop button as the level of interest was maintained steadily throughout, and I kept wanting to "watch a bit more". It has been a long time since I have actually cried while watching a film or sat on the edge of my seat literally in suspense, but 'The Shawshank Redemption' managed to make me do both.
The characters are what make this movie brilliant and the casting of Morgan Freeman as Red and Tim Robbins as Andy was spot on. They managed to convince me that I was watching real life and actual circumstances rather than just a realistic portrayal of the prison world. Their reactions and behaviour were original but suited the film, and really highlighted how easy it can be to become a victim but that you do not have to accept that role forever.
I felt inspired by the ideas raised and loved how my mind was encouraged to consider certain beliefs and rules in society. This movie challenges some of the toughest issues facing us in the modern age, even though the film was set over a period from the 1940's  1980's. Frank Darabont has produced an excellent movie which does not disappoint in any way. I would recommend 'The Shawshank Redemption' to anyone over the age of about 15 as a brilliant and enlightening drama.