Extremely Well Made, Well Acted, and Cheated at the Oscars

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2001)

After I saw Darabont's "Green Mile" I heard that he had another movie, and I had to see it. I taped Shawshank on TV and watched it, not expecting a lot. Well, it wasn't as good as "Green Mile," but it was pretty darned close, and it was quite similar in terms of themes and character types. I thought the warden was terrific. I was so engrossed in the movie, I wanted to strangle the man myself. Although many say the movie was predictable, I was quite surprised by the ending. As in the case of the "Green Mile," the awards Shawshank richly deserved were passed on to other, not so good, films. The only downside was the portrayal of the characters. The movie basically said that criminals are good guys, and the prison guards are villains. Isn't it the other way around?
I give Shawshank a 9/10