The Shawshank Redemption

There are a great many 'great' films that I haven't watched, and I'm aiming to rectify this. So, why not start with no doubt one of the most famous and well-loved films, The Shawshank Redemption. The film follows Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and is thrown into Shawkshank Detention Centre. The jail is run by Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) and Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown), and the only rule is that the 'Lord's name shouldn't be taken in vain'. When there, Andy meets Red (Morgan Freeman) and his friends and begins to find a form of solace in various ways in the jail.

The Shawshank Redemption, based on a story by Stephen King, certainly has a wonderful plot. The film raises some very interesting points about how serving long prison terms can affect people when they leave the walls of the prison, particularly through the wonderful character of Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore); in addition to discussing how it is that people keep their heads when they are behind bars; be it through films, board games or books. Whilst the film is frequently grim, the whole premise is based on a gross miscarriage of justice, and violence, from both the inmates and the guards, is unflinchingly portrayed. Through Frank Darabont's directing and writing, the film keeps ticking along, despite years passing; representative of the character's own disbelief about how fast time is passing.

The two central performances are both great; Tim Robbins brings a real everyman quality to Andy and Morgan Freeman is, as always, an enigmatic screen presence and of course, his voice during the narrative holds huge gravitas. It was also nice to see him in a film which means that I won't always look at him and just think "God" (thanks Bruce Almighty). Bob Gunton is also great as the hypocritical Christian hideous prison warden; aided by Clancy Brown as a very creepy prison guard. I also loved William Sadler as Heywood, one of Red & Andy's friends and Gil Bellows as Tommy, a brave young prisoner who brings Andy some hope about proving his innocence.

Although Shawshank certainly has its dark moments, it is also full of dark humour and is ultimately a hopeful film that really does deserve its place as one of the best films.