The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

1994 R 142 Minutes

Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an am...

Overall Rating

7 / 10

Verdict: Good

User Review

FILM

10 / 10

The Shawshank Redemption will always hold a special place in my heart, credited as the first film I truly loved. It made me want to learn more about filmmaking and the art of film in general, and fascinated me to no end with its powerful and emotional storytelling.

On the subject, storytelling is arguably the film’s strongest suit. It begins with our main character Andy Dufrense being given a back-to-back life sentence for an alleged double homicide; and from there a wonderful, slow-moving narrative begins to unwind. We follow Andy through the trials and tribulations of his life in prison, the highs and lows of his experience in the four high walls of Shawshank, all narrated by “Red”, Morgan Freeman’s infinitely loveable character. The multi-thematic narrative of the film is totally absorbing, each scene being crafted with immense care and detail to bring to life one of the most heartfelt films to come out of Hollywood.

Red and Andy are by no means the sole characters in the film. Every inmate or warden with more than a minute of screen time is written and performed with such expertise, it’s easy to become utterly lost in the world of The Shawshank Redemption. The prison seems genuinely populated due to crafty dialogue and blocking, which completely fleshes out each individual character.

Frank Darabont’s direction is also wonderful, even though it is often too subtle to notice. Repeated shots, long holds, birds-eye, this film uses every trick in the book to tug at your heartstrings, and it’s done so expertly by Darabont and DoP Roger Deakins (Get that Oscar!!) that even the most stubborn of filmgoers will feel a tear somewhere in the back of their eye at the iconic ending shot of this film.

Overall, I cannot recommend The Shawshank Redemption enough. It is by far one of my all-time favourites, and whilst I can’t say I prefer it to Pulp Fiction, I can safely say it deserved the ’94 Oscar far more than Forrest Gump (Sorry).

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