A Review of Frank Darabont Film, The Shawshank Redemption

Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption(1994) is a film about a banker Andy Dufresne who is convicted to life in prison for killing his own wife and her other romantic interest despite his pleas of innocence. Darabont has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has screen written for several movies but he is best known for his film adaptations of books such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist. Shawshank’s main character is played by Tim Robbins.

While inside Andy befriends another inmate, Ellis Boyd, better known as “Red” who is played by Morgan Freeman.

This film has a special place in my heart not only for me but movie critics as well. IMDb gave it a 9.3 out of 10 and it is considered one of the best movies ever. Shawshank however barely recuperating its budget in box office sales was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1994 without winning in any category. This has been said to have happened due to its unpopularity with everyday movie-goers.

It also received two Golden Globe nominations. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman were both nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 1995. But enough about how Shawshank is amazing here is why.

In Regard to the overall texture of the film, I would have to describe it as very ugly yet toward the end liberating. Andy is luckily adopted by “Red” when he firsts arrives at Shawshank State Prison in Maine.

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Prison is very rapidly introduced to Andy as corrupt and a constant testosterone induced competition for dominance. The prison Guards for instance are very aggressive and will beat you if you step out of line even for a second. They are led by Captain Byron Hadley played by actor Clancy Brown who is a man of unrelenting demand for obedience.

This is not to mention the other inmates who are insane. They in one scene tried to rape Andy but they luckily did not succeed. Beatings of course are another weapon used by them. Despite the incredibly savage lifestyle of prison Andy overcomes this hardship by using his skills in banking to assist and win over the warden and the guards as well. He also improves the prison library in exchange for this work. This however is just a piece of Andy’s master plan to escape, which he succeeds in doing and hence the sense of liberation toward the end.

Photography I would say heavily contributes to the outstanding nature of this movie. In one scene for example Andy has just crawled through football fields of sewage pipe so as to escape. When he at long last arrives at the end of the pipe he is covered in poo yet it is raining. He stretched his arms out toward the sky and looks upward. The camera in this shot was placed above him looking down. It is my personal interpretation that this was done to make the audience feel a sensation of perseverance and the glory of the open world as opposed to the confinement of prison.

I would immensely recommend this film to anyone who is human. The film in my opinion is of the utmost quality and should be appreciated for its simple yet great message about the perseverance of the human spirit. This is surely my favorite film.