The Shawshank Redemption is taken from the Stephen King collection of novellas, Different Seasons. This isn't a scary Stephen King book or film. Instead it is a story of, well, wrongful imprisonment for a start, but also hope, integrity and, funnily enough, redemption. The first time I watched it,as a student, I turned my nose up, but from the beginning I was hooked. When I watched it again a few weeks ago, once more I was sucked into the story.
It is 1947 and Andy Dufresne (played brilliantly by Tim Robbins), a young banker, is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sent to the notorious Shawshank State Prison where he meets Red (Morgan Freeman) who is actually the narrator of the story. Red is a man who can get things, and after about a month Andy asks him for a rock hammer as he is into rock carving.
Andy is not your typical prisoner. He is a caring man, not hardened and claims, to the disbelief of his fellow inmates, that he is innocent. He is calm, patient and mild-mannered, initially seen as weak, but proves himself to be anything other than. He is targeted by a gang called "The Sisters" and is attacked by them for a few years. Andy never loses hope though and gradually life for Andy in the prison improves as he becomes useful to the warden.
The acting of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman along with all the other actors is excellent. The portrayal of the brutal conditions inside the prison is often uncomfortable viewing but stick with it. It has an excellent ending. One of the best, if not the best, I have ever seen in a film.
Realted posts: Friday Flick archives
