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The Shawshank Redemption (1994) *****
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, Mark Ralston
Frank Darabont wrote this screenplay from a Stephen King short story, and directed it, garnering seven Oscar nominations, including best picture (losing to Forest Gump). The acting here is first rate by the whole cast and the dialog is good. The real strength here, however, is the magnificent story about the resilience, and power, of the human spirit in the face of crushing circumstances.
Tim Robbins is Andy Dufresne, a bank vice president convicted of murdering his wife and sent to Shawshank Prison, where his hard life is made a little lighter by making a few friends, including a man who knows how to get things, ‘Red’ Redding, played by Morgan Freeman in an Oscar nominated role. Andy has to learn how to survive and keep his soul intact in an institution that seems designed to take it. Andy not only finds a way to survive, but manages to soar above his circumstances.
Many great films have had the power to bring us down as we feel the oppression of the characters deep in our souls. More still have had the ability to lift us, and put a smile in our hearts, as well as on our faces. Shawshank is one of the precious few films that has the power to bring us down into a hopeless spiral of the character’s dilemma, but then to lift us up by the end of the film and to fill our souls with a gentle belief in what is possible. This is one of the greatest films of all time and if you have somehow never seen it, I envy you for being able to have that precious experience of its first viewing.
