Awesome, gripping film - gold-plated classic

Rating: 10/10 (12 February 1999)

This is a story about patience, maturity, character, salvation, and ultimately about finding humanity in a place where there is none. Although its subject matter may be depressing, the story actually contains a lot of warmth, humor and friendship - a buddy story cloaked in a philosophical discourse on the importance of retaining a sense of personal worth and hope no matter what the circumstances.
This adaptation of a 1982 Stephen King novella did lukewarm box office, in part because of an advertising campaign that offered no clue as to what the movie was about, and in part because it never played on more than 970 screens. Still it garnered seven Oscar nominations, including a Best Picture nod, and finished up at a respectable $30 million.
Set in mid-1940s Maine, this is the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is tried and falsely convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to life at Shawshank prison, where he meets a canny lifer named Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), and a caravan of colorful characters.
The story begins with Red and his fellow inmates watching the latest busload of prisoners unload, and they make bets on who will cry during their first night in prison, and who will not. Red narrates the story from within the walls of the prison.
Whereas some Stephen King adapters have seemed intent on transcending or trashing their source material, writer-director Frank Darabont succeeds through fidelity to the text; the few deviations make this subdued male love story even more audience-friendly. The film sports elegant cinematography by Roger Deakins, a poignant score by Thomas Newman, solid portrayals and characterizations by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, and an excellent supporting cast including James Whitmore (as old-timer Brooks Hatlen) and William Sadler as a con who starts out scary and ends up lovable.