The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - Review

Written By Guest Writer on Saturday, May 7, 2016 | 1:57:00 PM

“Prison is no fairy-tale world. No one said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile - prison life consists of routine, and then more routine.” – Red (Morgan freeman)

The Shawshank Redemption tells us about Friendship, Hope and Loyalty in a place that no one trusts anyone, as we know, Prisons.

Starred by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as Andy and Red. A friendship develop inside a place that you cannot trust no one. Between Red (Morgan Freeman), who has been inside the walls for a very long Time, and Andy (Tim Robbins), who just made his first step inside the walls blotting all memories in the outside world.

Red (Freeman) doesn’t care much on Andy (Robbins) at all at first, He even bet that Andy is the one who will cry first in the first night in Prison, but over time, they become the best of friends, This is one of the Strengths of the film, Unlike other movies about Lovers, Heroes and Sidekicks, Shawshank Redemption show true and unconditional love between two best friends inside the high walls of the Shawshank Prison.

This is not the Typical “Prison-Drama” movie. It is not about violent, riots and melodrama. The Story is base on the book of Stephen King, but not quite the same of his work which is mostly Horror. The Horror in this film is not the supernatural kind, but about men spends most of their life inside the walls with daily routine waiting for their freedom but will end up in a realization that no one is waiting for them, no one is willing to accept that they exist, that no one really care about them outside the walls. It is emphasize in a scene when one of Andy and Red friend. Brooks (James Whitmore) is freed on parole, but unable to adjust in a world after 50 years in prison without a daily routine, without walls and guards, he hangs himself.

Unlike other people says, Shawshank Redemption is not a depressing movie, there are moments in the film that show life, warmth, humour, and friendship between Andy and his friends. Like when Andy finds a way to get cold beers for his friends doing a roofing job. Those are just simple things for others but inside the wall, it is a feeling or a bit of taste of being a free man.

Shawshank Redemption was nominated for seven Academy Awards and go home with nothing. Most of the awards are goes to Forrest Gump. Shawshank Redemption didn’t go well on its first screening, with only a box office of $28.3 million, in Hollywood this is considered as a failure. One of the reasons is that the word “Shawshank” before is not that Iconic unlike today. Prison Drama will not sell to women and a love between two men best friends is not a win-win film in those years. But it became the most rented film in the year 1995. It ranks #2 in the IMD’s Top 250 Films. Shawshank Redemption just proves that Failure is not a life sentence.

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