One of the finest movies of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2002)

Shawshank is a movie which somehow trancends the whole of its parts. In all respects, this is a movie that has no right to work as well as it does. There are so many opertunities where a director and a cast of lesser instincts could have delved into schmatlz, yet the ensemble remains steadfast as the story unwinds. Make no mistake, this an uplifting tale which uses the ubiquitous happy "Hollywood" ending. Not only does it take place in the forties, it also seems that the movie itself was a product of the studio era of Hollywood cinema, with a plot and pathos that would have worked in the best of Capra's films. Shawshank, as a result, requires us to check the most "nintees" of all mindsets in the process, cynicsm. Shawshank is all about faith in the human spirit and freedom, and how both are impossible to lose as long as you beleive in yourself -- Not exactly a bromide for present day society. That this movie remains popular is evidence that we still thirst for Capra-esque movies that shy away from cynicsm.
Shawshank , unlike most modern films, wears no self-aggrandizing snear. It proudly wears earnestness and faith, while other movies try to mock such feelings. Is Shawshank the most intelligent movie around? No, certainly not. Is it the most philosphically groundbreaking? Not at all. Will it change the face of movies? I don't see it as likely. Instead Shawshank is a timeless piece whose story will leave it's mark on those who approach it with an open mind. It won't change your life, but it will make you walk higher, look farther, and hope harder that such a story can exist is a world where so few tales of redemption come without a snear.