Kim Gentes

Robbins & Freeman are spectacular; writing perfect.

If you are seeing this review and have never seen this movie, it is likely you have missed one of the top movies in the last 20 years. Directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption is near perfect in its story telling, with a clear plot told in digestable portions. You never feel like the story loses pace or that the screenwriters are hurrying up in the end to fix something they have to resolve in the plot.

Robbins plays Andy Dufresne (a banker wrongly convicted of slaying his wife and her lover) with such perfection, you become convinced of not only the role of this protagonist, but the nature of his character. It is his unquestionable performance that ultimately leads us to be surprised by the changes in the character in the last third of the film. The changes are smart, clear and reasonable, but like real life, they are surprising. This is Robbin's best acting ever.

Morgan Freeman plays an inmate in the Shawshank prison that eventually befriends Andy and is the only one to gain insight into the real motivations of his friend.

Everything about this movie has a crisp and heartfelt message, but none of it is trite or condescending. Also welcoming about this film is the ability it has to convey subplots. Even the story of a released inmate and his struggles and trials to make it on the outside is an piercing potrayal of this world of incarceration and its members.

For those who want a plot to dizzy and spin them, they may find Shawshank Redemption is slow moving, but anyone with patience enough to enjoy this movie brew will be rewarded with perfect acting, screenwriting and directing.

This movie would not be suitable for small children, due to some abuse and violence in the prison setting that would be too harsh to have to explain to small children. But children old enough to watch it will gain great lessons from this cast on themes of honesty, friendship and perserverance. In my mind it is suitable for young people ages 11 and over to watch with the supervision of their parents. It will be a very good film to watch as a family, if you have children this age or above. A great discussion starting point about many important issues.
One of the all-time best films ever.