The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for Best Picture of 1994. I've managed through the years to avoid this movie, thinking it would be a dull study of prison life. I just wasn't looking forward to it. Instead, I've realized that it's an intriguing look at the slow development of a friendship between two unlikely people: "Red," a long-time convict, and Andy Dufresne, a newly arrived prisoner. Over the course of nineteen years in the same prison, they come to know and respect and like each other. It's a testament to this movie that you don't find the tedium of day-to-day existence in prison to be tedious at all. What you concentrate upon are the different characters and the ways that they interact.

The film begins with Andy's arrival at Shawshank as those already in prison take wagers as to which of the "fresh fish" will cry. How that turns out is pretty gruesome, as are several other scenes in the film. However, this is not a violent movie overall. It instead takes its time to develop the individual characters in a way so that you can see their distinctions and their commonalities. It requires some patience on the part of viewers, but that patience is amply rewarded by the knowledge that we gain about these men.

Red is the prisoner who seems to be able to get his hands on just about anything from the outside that someone wants. Andy initially asks for a simple item, a tool used for shaping small rocks. He later asks for Rita Hayworth after he and the other prisoners watch Gilda one night. What he gets instead is a poster of Hayworth in her most famous pose. Those two items play a significant role in the film, but it's a testament to the skill of the filmmakers that you aren't made to feel this in any obvious way. In fact, much of this movie is incredibly subtle and low-key.

The performances by the two leads are top-notch. Morgan Freeman plays Red, and he's wonderful here, as he always is. His argument against having hope when you've been in prison so long is pretty remarkable. Tim Robbins plays Andy, and his part is less showy perhaps, but he is equal to Freeman's talent in this film. Robbins has to be the quieter of the two men, the one with greater patience and a stronger sense of hope. Overall, I guess this movie is about the depth of one's sense of hope, and the ending provides viewers with a clear sense of which side the creators of this fine film have taken in that debate.