Brilliant Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2001)

"The Shawshank Redemption" is without a doubt one of the best films of the 90's and one of the best prison dramas of all time.
"The Shawshank Redemption" can go head to head with any great movie of the 90's and probably win. The plot is airtight with only one or two mistakes through the whole film, not a lot of films could say the with even the likes of Forrest Gump, Titanic and Unforgiven have mistakes in them. One thing that Darabont does better than any director i've seen in a long time is pace every scene perfectly.
Another great thing about this film is the pitch perfect cast. Tim Robbins puts in the best performance of his career, even topping his role in "The Player" and Morgan Freeman is outstanding as "Red" Redding and old tymer who knows everything and has seen everything about jail. Bob Gunton is also brilliant as the evil sheriff putting in his best performance. But the most underrated performance in my opinion is the one put in by James Whitmore as "Brooks".
Eventhough "The Shawshank Redemption" may seem like a tear jerker or like a tragic drama by the end you will have a smile on your face . I won't ruin it for you but the ending is one of the best I have ever seen, only rivaled by the unexpected twist in "The Usual Suspects". So if you want to feel some emotion, be surprised and enlightened or just plainly watch a great movie rent "The Shawshank Redemption". 10/10 Near Perfect Movie