Oh boy this one was a long one. But it sure as hell was a masterpiece.
The drama classic Shawshank Redemption was released in 1994 and starred Tim Robbins as convicted but innocent murderer Andy Dufresne, and Morgan Freeman as Red, also a prisoner. The Shawshank in The Shawshank Redemption signifies the name for the prison where the story takes place. The movie opens with Andy’s court case where he denies the crime of double murder against his wife and the man she was having an affair with. Even though the movie sets you up as the viewer to think he’s guilty early in the movie, Andy is not. He receives two life sentences and once he arrives in Shawshank, he makes friends with Red and his companions early. Andy finds out Red is the smuggler of Shawshank, providing whatever someone wants from the outside world. Andy requests a rock hammer from Red, hoping to shape and sculpt rocks he finds around Shawshank to fulfill a hobby. When Andy meets his enemies in the prison known as “The Sisters” because of their nonconsensual homosexual assaults, he suffers and learns the harsh realities of prison life. After Andy’s year or two of attacks, The Sisters are taken down and their leader left paralyzed by the rough disciplinary officer of Shawshank, Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown). Andy’s past experience as a banker before Shawshank acquires him the job of maneuvering financial funds for officers in Shawshank. As with most prison movies, the conflict stems from prisoners and officers getting involved with each other and establishing ties. When ties and agreements fester into tumors of tension and exploitation, Andy turns against Shawshank.
The Pros
Story design. Sure the movie is known for Morgan Freeman’s star performance, but the narration combined with character development makes for a really engaging and entertaining story. We get to see Andy learn the harsh realities of prison life but also how he works around them, which we truly find out about at the end of the movie. Andy also starts to learn that he can take advantage of the warden since he can outsmart anyone plus he’s in charge of making him money.
Camaraderie and “feel good story” are the two biggest pros to me for The Shawshank Redemption. Andy and Red’s friendship was beautiful to watch. The two cared for each other to an extent where I almost felt like it was truly happening in front of me, not in a movie, which it fortunately and unfortunately is. It also isn’t just Red that Andy finds. Andy really joins an entire group: Andy, Red, Brooks, Heywood, and later Tommy. The group watches each other’s backs and they truly care about one another, something who the hell knows how true it is of a real prison, but it still makes for a charming story. The “feel good aspect” goes right in hand with the camaraderie angle but also we feel jubilation for Andy escaping the prison and fooling the warden. You also just can’t end a movie much better than the two best friend prisoners, Andy and Red, meeting up in Zantawhatever it is in Mexico.
The Cons
The length. I know I know, It’s such a Dylan Shobe critique but I can’t be the only one. I think not only am I objectively correct when I say this, but I also think I speak for the majority–While The Shawshank Redemption exceeds all expectations and qualities of a movie masterfully, it is too long. I realize that the story happened to be the length it was because that’s how the story was built and thought out, but it doesn’t change the fact that I, and probably most people, can’t sit through a movie that is 2 hours and 22 minutes long anymore. It was a product of the 90s where movies were still part of a slower speed and crafted for a different audience. But that also doesn’t exempt it from the test of time, or the test of Dylan Shobe, who deems it too long. I found myself yawning and going from a sitting position on the couch to a fully sprawled position taking up half the couch and my hand holding up my head. While that is the weirdest way to tell that a movie is too long, it is a consistent one and an honest one.
As far as it goes, that’s my only critique. This movie is just god damn beautiful, plain and simple. The Score is a 92.