The Shawshank Redemption (1994) review

After viewing this film a few times, it is truly a pity to think that The Shawshank Redemption did not carry home any Oscar, even though the film clearly surpasses the greatness of Forrest Gump which managed to take 7 Oscars. With one of the greatest, most realistic and most moving stories, to fantastic acting or amazing characters, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the finest directed films and has sent through a message that has inspired many people. “Hope is always a good thing”

When thinking about films, I generally like to think of an aspect to a film that I do not appreciate even if it is a very slight nit-pick but the Shawshank Redemption is so full of brilliance in every department of great film making that there isn’t one slight thing about the film that I do not like. Even one of my favourite films of all time, Pulp Fiction, the other film in 1994 that should’ve won Oscars has a slight nitpick here and there but upon rewatching this film, it has immediately moved into my top 5 films of all time.

The Shawshank Redemption plays out in a prison called Shawshank where a young man named Andy Dufresne is sent to Shawshank for two life sentences on the account for murdering his wife and her lover. There he forms a bond with a man named Red as the film continues to show Andy’s progress from a timid man into a confident and rather respectable man whilst he attempts to escape Shawshank. 

What is so brilliant about this film is that it is completely free to allow itself to be set up nicely never feeling rushed or slow. It is so brilliant in everyway that, like the late Roger Ebert said, The Shawshank Redemption makes you completely lose track of time and ensures that you forget you are watching a film as the narration, giving by the godly voice of Morgan Freeman makes you feel as if you are one of the men in Shawshank. Featuring one of the greatest screenplays, The Shawshank Redemption is a masterful adaptation off Stephen King’s masterpiece. The pacing is just incredible and the messages that are sent through this film are incredibly powerful, thanks to a fantastic script. Some of the lines, especially ‘Remember Red, hope is always a good thing!” is such a fantastic and such an inspirational line. 

Some films that deal with prison life could come off horrible but The Shawshank Redemption offers a completely realistic and rather dark yet emotional and happy take on prison life. The characters presented have been considered to have done bad stuff in the past but are rather friendly people once you come to know them more. Red and Andy are endearing characters and even minor characters, mainly Brooks, the old librarian are vital to the story and what may be Red’s fate. Brooks was a major character who was portrayed brilliantly as he was able to show what life on the outside is like after serving a lifetime on the inside. The way that this simultaneously linked with Red was superb and the whole sequence regarding Red’s narration of Andy’s escape was done perfectly but the finest scene in the final, in my eyes, was Brooks’ fate. Not only heavily emotional but extremely realistic, this scene provided much pity not just for Brooks but also for others at Shawshank.

Morgan Freeman was absolutely superb as Red, his voice providing such power and emotion to the film. His performance is calm making his character all the more endearing. The chemistry he shared with Tim Robbins was fantastic and Robbins’ gave a fantastic performance showing his dedication to the library, showing his urge to leave and his fear and guilt of his past. The way that both Freeman and Robbins’ portrayed extremely calm characters yet how we could still see their anger and fright was just superb. The rest of the cast did a great job especially Bob Gunton who played the corrupted head of Shawshank, Warden Norton. That scene involving Norton and newcomer, Tommy was just superb. The way that Norton’s face was mainly covered by the dark was extremely symbolic and the entire scene was intense. He displayed what true corruption would be like and is quite possibly, one of the great antagonists ever put to screen. 

Frank Darabont’s directing was utterly fantastic and in many ways, it is no surprise that his film is so well received by critics and users across the world. It remains, one of the all time greatest films and has been placed at #1 on IMDb’s infamous top 250 list for an extremely long time period even though it is definitely not the greatest film ever made. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a movie for anyone aged 15 and up and will demonstrate what true life can be like. An extremely dark at times yet positive film that has timeless re-watchable value. A true masterpiece in my eyes. 

Grade- 10/10