Movi Review - the Shawshank Redemption

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

Which would you prefer? With all the pressure behind the walls that has locked prisoners from the outside world; almost every man in Shawshank has given up hope. But there is one man that still has hope and keeps it alive, Andy Dufresne.

The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont delivers on a promise that everyone deserves a second chance. Based on a short story by Stephen King called 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption', the movie is about a man struggling to find hope.

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to two life sentences and sent to the Shawshank Prison. However, he is imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit.

Shawshank was filmed in an unused Ohio state prison. The dark walls never let the prisoners forget that they are locked inside. The stone and bricks become the main symbol in the film. There is no sunlight to brighten up the chilling environment to up-lift the spirits of the men. The prisoners have a limited of time they are allows outside. It is the moment of life once they can taste the sense of freedom that is fleeting.

The movie is filmed in dreary colours implying that life inside the prison is a pale shade of the outside world. Day and night become one and the same. On the outside as the prisoners call it things are different: 'Foreign and best forgotten.'

Andy survives on the inside of the prison because he believes that there is still hope. He quickly becomes friends with Red (Morgan Freeman), the lifeline of the prison who can smuggle things into Shawshank. Red, with his gravelly voice as the narrator brings life to the barren walls. As an interesting note, we never heard the thoughts of Andy. The audience views Andy as a man going through the motions, never realizing his goals or his dreams.

Most prison movies focus on the art of escaping. Frank Darabont powerfully focuses on how the prisoners survive in the prison. The viewer is drawn into the lives of immoral and criminal, seeing them as scared and lonely people. The redemption that Frank Darabont suggests in the movie is not just about the characters, but how we view people that have done something wrong. He draws the picture that anybody can be saved, can be redeemed only if they truly want to.

The main theme in the movie is hope. Hope for some is a dangerous thing and can drive a man insane as Red described. But it isn't for Andy. Hope is something that he believes and kept him alive. This gave him an inner light and an ability to transfer his sense of hope to the other inmates.

I have to say The Shawshank Redemption is one of the best movies I have ever seen. They might not have the best sound technique or the best picture qualities. There is no special