Anthony's Film Review - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This drama about life in prison is undeniably unforgettable...

The Shawshank Redemption is a powerful film in a rather unique subgenre: the prison drama. Watching this movie is like taking a trip through a real-life 1940s prison. It lets you experience the thoughts and emotions that come from living in an environment with strict routines, harsh forms of discipline, and no signs of going free anytime soon (or ever). With such constraints, the film also allows one to feel what it is like to just go through life each and every day in captivity, surviving the worst ordeals and relishing in the simplest pleasures that the rest of society takes for granted. This is a great movie for sure. And it's not just for anyone who has ever experienced being in prison for committing a crime. Anyone who has never ever been in prison will also find this captivating.

Adding to this emotional drama is the main character and his circumstances. Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins in a solid performance, is accused of murdering his wife and lover. However, despite his pleas of innocence, the prosecution feels that the evidence is sufficient to convict and send Andy to prison for life. Knowing that Andy may be a wrongfully accused man serving a life sentence makes us sympathetic from the start. As Andy enters the Shawshank prison in Maine as a new inmate, we shudder to think how miserable his life will be, given that his freedom has been taken away, likely in unjust fashion.

This character is a notable contrast with the other main character here. Morgan Freeman delivers a fine performance as a long-time inmate named Ellis Boyd Redding, a.k.a. Red. This is a man who has been in captivity long enough to develop thick skin against the horrors of prison and to know how to navigate it all. Fortunately for Andy, Red is someone who is willing to help a fellow man out. A friendship naturally forms between the two men. Over time, Andy acclimates to prison life without feeling alone or totally losing his sanity.

That's not to say Shawshank is a happy place. It often isn't. You can expect to see other inmates who are not afraid to intimidate and beat up men like Andy. But believe it or not, the worst moments at Shawshank occur with two specific members of the prison staff. One is the prison guard captain Byron Hadley, played by Clancy Brown. This man is so ruthless that he does not hesitate to viciously beat misbehaving inmates, even to the point of causing serious injury or death. The other is the prison warden Samuel Norton, played by Bob Gunton. He is a serious no-nonsense Bible-thumping man whose dark side will emerge if you do anything to cross him.

Still, believe it or not, a few good things do take place at Shawshank. Much of it stems from Andy's willingness to lend a helping hand. There's a scene where Andy, who had previously been a banker, stops doing an assigned task in order to provide tax advice to Captain Hadley. Later, Andy is doing tax returns for all of the members of the prison staff. But the most inspiring thing that occurs is when Andy goes to great lengths to expand the prison library. He writes letters to the U.S. Congress to request funds for the prison library. He also accepts a ton of donated books. Pretty soon, the prison library becomes a happy place for many inmates to visit. If Andy ever gets out of prison and wants to be a librarian, he is definitely qualified.

This leads to the question about the title. What is the redemption at Shawshank? Is it what I just described above? Is it the transformation of certain characters in the process of becoming better people? Well, in my opinion, there's no wrong answer, and there's certainly not just one answer. Anyone who watches this film can make his or her own observations about what the redemption is. I should also note that another possibility is that the redemption is what ultimately happens at the end, which I will obviously not spoil. I will say, though, that the finale is fantastic and not to be missed.

Besides the great drama, cast performances, and realistic portrayal of a prison setting, The Shawshank Redemption excels in the way it humanizes the prisoners. When new inmates arrive at the prison, one may expect them to still be cruel and ruthless like the way they were when they had committed heinous crimes. But it is not long before we begin to sympathize with some of them. Two supporting characters are worth noting here as an illustration. One is a fat inmate who cries after he is locked in his cell for the first time, and he is subject to a fatal beating from Captain Hadley. Another is the elderly Brooks Hatlen, played by James Whitmore. He is the first prison librarian we see before Andy transitions into that role. Whatever the old man once did to get himself in prison doesn't seem to matter at all, because in our eyes, he has become much more of a lovable grandfather than a madman who deserves to be locked up.

So with everything I've described, this is no doubt a great movie to see. It's amazing that, even as it comes from the more recent era of the 1990s, the film stands with the phenomenal classics of old. On that note, here is something worth mentioning. For a long time, the Internet Movie Database has The Shawshank Redemption at #2 on its list of the top 250 movies as rated by IMDb users. Now, as I am writing this in early October 2019, roughly a quarter of a century after the film's original release (and I can't believe I finally saw it for the first time after so long), The Shawshank Redemption has taken the #1 slot on that list, pushing The Godfather down from #1 to #2. It just goes to show the power of this film and how it can move and inspire people. More importantly, it's timeless. People have loved it for over 25 years. Presumably, this will continue for the next 25 or so. Maybe forever.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about The Shawshank Redemption, visit the Internet Movie Database.