An Underrated Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2006)

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman deliver performances worthy of cinematic heaven. No where do we spot the intention of their performances, only the gradual development of a friendship that transcends race, age, and social class.
The line between guilty and innocent, although blurred amongst the inmates, is animated by the corrupt guards, and the abysmal treatment of men who have sand piles on their weary shoulders.
Redemption is the predominate theme, as well as perseverance and friendship through situation. Biblical undertones pervade: Robbins bears oppression that angers the viewers until the redemptive secret is revealed.
The institution, the jail, as metaphor for society often succeeds. The "instituional man" cannot survive beyond the social structure behind the walls. He is a lost soul without the community of thieves and murderers that defines his existence. What is a man, but a success amongst his peers? One of the best films of the twentieth century.