The Shawshank Redemption

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2008)

The storyline of the "Shawshank Redemption" is great from the start. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, The movie starts off with the main character, Andy, being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. But just like everyone else in jail, Andy is "innocent." Andy's main argument for the situation was that he was drunk and did not remember. He said that he thought of trying to scare them and later on, threw the gun into the lake. When Andy arrives to the prison, everyone is walked down the entrance way into Shawshank prison while the character Red (Morgan Freeman), the "go-to guy", makes a bet that Andy will be the first person to "crack" or "go insane" and burst into tears. Red and his friends of convicts all bet cigarettes on different inmates to see which will be the first one to crack. Shockingly, Red loses the bet as Andy remains emotionless and lifeless as he walks through the walls of Shawshank. But as Red continues to observe Andy's behavior, he soon realizes that Andy is more unique than he seems. As Red's observation continues, he notices that Andy starts treating prison like life outside of the walls. Andy approaches Red and asks him for a "Rock Hammer" which is basically like a shrunken mining pick. Andy continues to sculpt rocks and make chess pieces for his own amusement.
When the cells close and the lights go off, if an inmate becomes rowdy, the guards give them an "Accident" eventually leading to the inmates death. Andy almost experiences an "Accident" when he stops working and interrupts a guard's conversation. Andy helps him with his situation in exchange for the workers have a day off and drink beer, and thus, he becomes in favor of the guards and the inmates. Andy soon finds himself in favor of the Warden as he starts doing everyone's taxes. When Andy is abused and beaten by the gang/group of inmates called, "The Sisters," the guards stand in Andy's favor where they get the lead sister have an "accident." Andy does what he can to help the prison become a more comfortable environment where he builds a fancy library and retrieves a larger budget for "new" used books. Andy does what he can in the favor of the inmates and earns a high respect. In this dramatic/suspenseful movie, hope is the main theme of the movie. Red tells Andy, "Hope can kill a man." Andy replies, "No, Hope give a man a reason to live, hope can set you free." I give this movie a 10/10 because it is simply a great film, the cinematography is awesome, the symbolism in lighting is great, and the storyline is a great one. I would recommend watching this movie.