The cast is brilliant where Andy Dufresne, a kind New England banker, is convicted for a murder of his and her lover. In jail Andy slowly builds an unlikely friendship with Red, an experienced prisoner and his gang. Soon Andy becomes popular along with the gang, including the vicious Captain Hadley who offers him protection from the jail’s bullies. Over a twenty year period, Andy is able to maintain his wisdom and self-respect in prison not by physical force but by mental force. He teaches the prisoners that although they are convicted of various crimes that does not mean they should stop dreaming which leads up the fellow prisoners of Andy into a world of imagination, desire, courage and hope. His reasons and confidence is a primary key of to make the prisoners believe that hope is the vital means of survival.
The acting by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins is outright realistic and their characters are so well played that we know them, think what they are thinking, feel with them, cry with them and laugh with them, and find an announcement of life in their bond of acquaintance and indulgence. It is however remarkable how a movie on criminals in jail can make you teach a priceless message of hope and synchronizes with the life of millions of people in the world.
The composer of The Shawshank Redemption, Thomas Newman who has also composed for the movies American Beauty and Road to Perdition gave a gorgeous, masterwork of composition that elevates the film to the heavens with its prosperity and sophistication. Newman has chosen right times for the right music making it not overly used in every scene which allows Shawshank Redemption to gain the profoundness of themes as a result.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) is a combination of dramatic film with character study with an impressive, enthralling piece of film-making which was nominated for Seven Academy Awards, i.e. Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound but could not win as it was up against movies like Speed, Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction. But not winning any awards does not make this movie less of a significant piece of art.
The Shawshank Redemption is no doubt a worth watching movie. If you have not seen it yet I will definitely recommend you to rent it RIGHT NOW as it has a character for each one of us to relate to. The story and the characters in this movie are so strong and convincing that it made me ignore a number of imperfections made in this movie.