Tells a powerful story well, but I wish it allowed more development of supporting characters

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 2006)

I watched "The Shawshank Redemption" last night with my husband, partly to see what the fuss was all about. I found it a well made moving film, but a little too sentimental. Red's character was complex. He was very noble (well, he is played by Morgan Freeman) but he was in prison for being a murderer, and the speech he made to the parole board at the end of the film showed his dilemmas and the darker side of his personality. Andy was complex too as the other prisoners saw. I thought the characters were too clichÃ©d in the way that the warden and the guards were bad, the prisoners were good, except for a group of prisoners (the Sisters) who were bad. Aside from Andy and Red, the characters fit clearly on one side of the good/bad divide. I would have liked to see more sides of their personalities. The film delivers some surprises by the end: it was wonderful not to have any inkling of Andy's escape, his plans for revenge, or his gift to Red, providing Red with his freedom. The script develops the story skillfully and makes the audience care deeply about the prisoners, not just Andy and Red. I would have liked to know what happened to the prisoners after the corrupt warden and the bullying guards were arrested. "The Shawshank Redemption" tells a powerful story well, but it would have an even more powerful punch if it allowed more time to discover the prisoners' inner natures: the darker tone of the "fishing" scenes at the start really isn't returned to. I loved Banks' pet crow and the nod to "Birdman of Alcatraz". That film was a strong portrait of both the Birdman and the experience of being in a prison. Ultimately, I didn't feel that "The Shawshank Redemption" gives a picture of what it's like to be a prisoner locked away in a corrupt institution for decades. For one thing, I can't see an entire population of a prison reacting to Mozart on the loudspeaker with awe: surely there must have been more prisoners who prefer Hank Williams.