SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

                   

                     SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
                     DIRECTOR: FRANK DARABONT
                     RELEASED: 1994 

“Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

The Shawshank Redemption is a movie about time, patience and loyalty – these qualities grow on you during the progress of this story, which is about how two men serving life sentences in prison become friends and find a way to fight off despair.

More so than just the brilliant acting by Mr. Freeman and Mr. Robbins, the cinematography is quite flawless and the film has a consistent flow to it. The Shawshank Redemption is a very humane story with a lot of powerful, and emotional scenes that have captivated millions of viewers. The film is an allegory about holding onto a sense of personal worth, despite everything. 

This is not a "prison drama" in any conventional sense of the word. The movie is based on Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. The horror here is not of the supernatural kind, but of the sort that flows from the realization than 30 years of a man's life have unreeled in the same unchanging daily prison routine.

Andy Dufresne is a young, smart and ambitious banker in Portland who is accused and later convicted of murdering his wife and her extramarital lover, though he consistently states he is not guilty. At first, he appears to the audience as a cold, detached and remorseless person who very well could have committed that crime. The other main character, Ellis ‘Boyd’ Redding, Red, a long-time prisoner at Shawshank state prison, is unimpressed by Andy’s appearance at first sight and remarks how “a stiff breeze would blow him over.” 

Their friendship blossoms due to a simple, haphazard moment when Andy asks Red for a rock hammer to carve chess pieces. It’s an unusual request but it gets the two men to talk to each other and to break down the stereotypes that Red has of Andy, and Andy has of Red.

There are some scenes which are my favorite. A notable scene is the famous ‘Suds on the Roof’ scene when Andy risks his life to give his fellows a one-time allowance of beers, while they tar the roof of a factory, by giving the prison guard some financial advice. 

Another notable scene that stands out is how Andy continuously asks the state of Maine for extra money to give to the Shawshank prison in order to build a memorial library in honor of another prisoner, Brooks, who committed suicide regrettably after finishing up his sentence. Loss of security, loss of his personal identity, feelings of vulnerability and inexperience and feeling of dependence are probably the reasons why Brooks attempted suicide. As Red states-

“These walls are funny. First you hate ’em, then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you dependent on them.”

Again, there is an extremely beautiful scene where Andy is collecting records for the prison library and ends up putting an Italian opera record over the loudspeakers for all of the prisoners to hear. He locks himself in the room so the guards and the warden can’t get to him. For a few minutes, the opera music flows openly through the walls and the bars of the prison. As Red puts,

“For the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free…”

Despite the odds, Andy doesn’t let the negativity get him down and puts effort toward realizing his dream of getting out of Shawshank and making his way to Mexico. This courage and perseverance shown by Andy has a lasting effect on Red. In the end, the scene when both the friends are free and meet each other after a long time, is my personal favorite. That is a beautiful manifestation of freedom, happiness and loyalty.

The Shawshank Redemption is a story about one man’s ability to remain hopeful during the most difficult and harsh circumstances. As Red states at the end of the film,

“Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin.’”