Upbeat prison drama

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2008)

Film Review: The Shawshank Redemption (from a novel by Stephen King) The tale of the banker (Tim Robbins), who, given life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover, adapts to prison life using his native wit, as told through the eyes of another lifer (Morgan Freeman). Absorbing plot, interesting relationship between the two leads. The prison system (of Maine) exposed as brutal and corrupt, the chief guard (sadist) and the warden (sanctimonious bible basher) are particularly nasty. Setting the story between the 40s and 60s makes it a little easier to believe. Fairytale ending.
Conservatives might argue all the brutality is justified in making prison a deterrent, but that hardly excuses the murders by guards and embezzlement by the warden. Of course the same people will contend insider trading keeps the stock market efficient  laws are OK as long as they do not inconvenience entrepreneurs. What we see here is a criminal injustice system similar to that which prevailed in parts of Australia at the time (and probably still does). The public doesn't care and the politicians don't want to appear soft on crime, after all, only bad people go to prison. Actually, King accepts that some prisoners have done pretty awful things, and go on doing them in prison.
So who is being redeemed? The problem is that Tim Robbin's character is a moral and upright character who should not be in jail  he has no need to forgive himself. Most of the other prisoners seem to think they are innocent, which makes "redemption" hard for them. Perhaps Morgan Freeman's character eventually does, but at enormous cost. Anyway, it's a good yarn, and virtue (of a sort) does triumph, which is always cheering.