Will leave you inspired

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2008)

Tim Robbins (War of the worlds) stars as Andy, a man who is sentenced to life in Shawshank prison after the murder of his wife and her lover.
In this adaptation of Stephen King's novel, director Darabont delivers a touching tale about one man's quest to live and to survive in one of the toughest prison's in the country, with great acting, a wonderful plot, and a few other little tweaks to make a beautiful crime drama.
Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Shawshank is a true touching crime drama, built around Andy Dufresne, who's approach to life in prison, his attitude towards life and the care for his inmates, makes him the most caring guy in prison you will ever see, which is helped along by a stunning performance by Robbins. He is the symbol of hope, the guy of light and talent to aspire to.
The ideology of hope is issued throughout the 2 hour film, and will leave you feeling inspired come the end.
Robbins is helped along by Oscar nominated Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar baby) who plays Red, the man who can get things. Red to, is a symbol of hope and light out of the darkness of the cruel surroundings, and his narration really gets an idea of what life in Shawshank is really like.
Red's tale is very sharp, and very dramatic, giving a thoughtful approach to prison life. The settings of the prison are very drab, a very dull place to serve your life sentence. The ruling of the place is equally as dramatic as the settings with cruel beatings, a place called the hole and fellow criminals to make life a misery. These approaches to running the prison is also controversial, a shocking portrayal of the system but justifies the genre exceptionally well.
Having never read the novel, this film has inspired me to take an interest in Stephen King's novels, as did Misery and The Shining, but being a fan of drama rather than horror, makes this top of my list.
Not the best of King's films I have to say, with The Shining and Misery true film greats, but the touching tale of one man and his punishment makes Shawshank Redemption a remarkable stunning watch.