A must for your DVD collection

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2010)

In a generation that has movies generated as a means to market soundtracks, action figures, or fast food meal toys, this 1994 film stands on its own because of the story, the acting and the film editing, Taking place over a nineteen year span, from 1947 to 1966, and the setting in an Ohio prison known for its toughness and discipline, the viewer is taken over the two decades in a voice over narration by one of the film's pivotal characters, Red. Morgan Freeman plays Red, an inmate that has the knack of acquiring items akin to the staff sergeant in any war movie. While Morgan Freeman is not necessarily a brilliant actor, he is brilliantly cast in this role and no one can dispute his comforting and trademark voice. Freeman walks through the events of the movie with the quiet and sincere voice, capturing the audience as a grandfather rocking in a chair on the front porch sipping lemonade would capture a young boy's unwavering attention as he speaks slowly, thoughtfully, and compassionately. Casting Freeman as Red is perhaps one of the director's best moves, because if the audience doesn't like and trust Red, the movie doesn't work. Freeman, or Red, tells us of Andy Dufresne arrival at the prison, how he stood out as a soft, unfit for prison life convict, sentenced for the murder of his wife and her lover. The most haunting scene in the movie comes that night as the newly arrived inmates become accustomed to their circumstances and fair game to the other inmates' entertainment. Red speaks how he has bet Andy, played by Tim Robbins, won't make it through the night without breaking down. Andy does and the viewing audience gets a glimpse, along with Red, into the strength you can gain from inner peace, focus, and reflection. Red and Andy form a two decade friendship and along the way, Red learns how to live again, and that while you accept circumstances in life, you never surrender hope or sense of who you are. Andy heals over the years, through Red's friendship, although it is clear Andy is a quiet and private man. As the audience watches Tim Robbins' character, it is clear the range of his acting is on display. Robbins has appeared in many films and the roles vary in personalities and depth, yet movie goers will walk away thinking about the movie character, not the actor. This is a true testament to acting skill sets, people don't talk about Tim Robbins in this film, instead they talk about Andy Dufresne. The audience witnesses corruption in the prison system, the abuse of guards, murder of inmates, and are exposed to Andy maintaining his true self by establishing a library, GED program, and setting up an accounting system doing the prison guards' tax returns. The latter practice moves him into the warden's office where he sets up a phony id and laundries money for the warden's ill gotten gains. The movie's turning point comes when an inmate Andy has helped obtain his high school diploma discovers he once shared a prison cell with the man that really committed the murders Andy was convicted of. Until this point in the movie, the audience didn't know for certain whether Andy committed the murders or not, and the characters in the movie just assumed he was guilty as they were. A turn of events has Andy reassessing he circumstances and gives the best quote in the movie, "I guess you have to get busy dying or get busy living," as he has the most heart filled conversation with Red in the nineteen years they have been friends. The movie then plays out with a low key ending which is open ended, and just as grandfather's soothing voice would end a story perfectly, so does Freeman. The film's editing has this picture in an almost black and white, using a limited color palate of grays, blues, browns and such to cause the setting to create a subdued atmosphere. The director has smartly made the setting a background by keeping it simple, sparse and not a focus of the plot. By use of a simplistic setting, limited colors, lighting, and selected camera angles the director forces the audience to focus on the actors and the plot instead of the use of computer enhanced graphics, unrealistic action scenes or too much skin being revealed with little to do with the storyline. This film is already a classic and clearly deserves a place in everyone's DVD collection, on the same shelf as The Godfather, Dead Poets' Society, and Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.