A Breathtaking Story and an Outstanding Cast,

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2013)

The Shawshank Redemption is a phenomenal movie with a very well developed storyline, outstanding character development and a fantastic cast. It's almost immediately engaging, I found myself engrossed by the story from the very first scene, as we follow Andy Dufresne in his journey in to prison, we feel the characters emotions, even without them being properly exposed and as the film progresses we see him form relationships in Shawshank prison that add a lot of depth. The character development in this movie is ridiculously well written and is what writers should look towards as inspiration, the relationship between Andy and Red, Brooks' entire story arch, the Warden and Captain's partnership, it's all very believable, as well as captivating thanks to a terrific script by Frank Darabont. The performances are all absolutely outstanding, Tim Robbins emotional, enclosed personality as Andy is terrific, Bob Gunton's sinister delivery, Clancy Brown's threatening persona, James Whitmore's innocent, uneducated attitude, it all comes together to create engaging, realistic people. However, the undeniable star of the show, and the main reason this film is #1 on IMDb's Top 250 has to be Morgan Freeman, his portrayal of Red is immediately enticing, he's a pure, honest man who keeps the story moving with narration, Freeman's voice-over work for this film adds that extra layer that was very necessary and added so much more power, his dialogue with Robbins is some of the best acting I have ever seen, and the moment in which he speaks about his parole for the final time is possibly the highlight of this amazing actors entire career. Very engaging, emotional, The Shawshank Redemption is a long movie, but I never found myself wanting it to end, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama.
Andy Dufresne is sentenced to two lifetimes in prison when he is convicted for killing his wife and her secret lover. He is miserable in Shawshank prison, but soon makes friends in the wise Red.
Best Performance: Morgan Freeman