When I first sat down to watch this movie, I was expecting your average prison film. Abusive guards, a fight here and there, just the standard stuff we see in this setting. What I got though, was an incredible movie about life, hope, and freedom.
Tim Robbins plays Andy, a man wrongly accused of murdering his wife. He is sentenced to life in prison and he eventually ends up at Shawshank. The beginning scenes with his first night at the prison are extremely captivating and thought provoking. We witness the breakdown of a prisoner along with surprising behavior by Andy.
Eventually our man meets Red, the smuggler of the prison who has a reputation for getting anything for anybody. Morgan Freeman gives what is possibly the best performance of his career as this character. He befriends Andy and gets some of the other prisoners to do the same. Eventually we settle down to a set group of about 8 main characters for which the movie will focus on.
We watch as the years go by in the prison. We see each character getting older, along with some excellent dialog from Red about how time goes by. As each major event occurs, we start to feel more and more for the characters. And after a shocking development, the movie takes a major turn that makes for some of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in any movie.
I honestly can’t find much wrong with this film. There are some sexual references and a semi-nude scene, but that’s about it. This story of a man surviving on hope is intriguing and one of the most interesting movies I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend it to anyone above the age of 13.