"Fear can hold you, prisoner. Hope can set you free." - Stephen King
Starting off the review with one of the famous quotes by Stephen King, oneof the writers of the Film and the whole film revolves around this.
Shawshank Redemption was directed by Frank Darabont and released in
the year of 1994. Three main characters of the movie are ex-banker Andy
Dufresne(Tim Robbins), prisoner Redding (Morgan Freeman) aka “Red” and
the evil warden(Bob Gunton) of the Shawshank prison.
This is far from a so-called prison escape or crime movies we are used to of
seeing in the recent past. The storyline is narrated by Red who was in prison
for almost 20 years. He was the guy who had connections in jail so that he
can import anything starting from cigarettes to something as little as a toy
from outside. Then one day a banker named Andy got into the prison. He
was accused of killing his wife and her lover which was apparently false as
seen later in the movie. From the beginning, Red and Andy started bonding.
One day Andy asked Red to bring him a hammer hearing which Red made
fun of andy and asked that if he was thinking of making a tunnel and
escaping prison using that it will take 600 years. Keep this statement in mind
as we reach to ending this has a very significant meaning.
The movie was filmed so well and segmented in parts where each part had
shown one strong pillar of Andy’s character. We saw he was attacked and
sexually harassed but still, without losing hope or crying for his fate he stood
up and fought against it. It shows a very bold and strong mindset of Andy.
Later on, we got a glimpse of how intelligent Andy was he helped the
warden to make his black corrupted money to white. We also saw him as
someone very hopeful and also simplicity was another key to his nature. In
the opening of the movie, we saw Andy with a bottle of Alcohol and a gun.
He was put into jail for being drunk and killing his wife and her lover but that
was not the truth but nobody believed him as he was drunk that day. So in
prison, we saw he was so determined that he stopped drinking alcohol.
When all his friends were drinking he refused to drink. We can see a very
strong mindset of this character through this. Andy wanted to live a simple
life in Mexico beside the beach and wanted to repair boats and go fishing
with friends. This also shows how he is positive even in the worst situations
also.
The warden character the so-called villain in the story is also portrayed very
well not very extravagant or loud or having wicked dialogues he had been
shown as religious believing in The holy Bibel. But on the other hand, he
was cruel, corrupt, and remorseless. The interaction he had with Andy with
the Bibel and while leaving he quoted “salvation lies within”. This will also
play a huge role in the climax of the movie.
Along with the main storyline, there were also some side stories of the dark
truth of any prisons back in the day were shown. Many prisoners spent most
of their lives in the prison so by the time they get out from there the world is
changed from the time they got into prison. We saw how an old man set free
committed suicide as he could not resist the world outside the four walls of
the prison. In another scene, we saw a prisoner got killed because of
speaking out loud the truth which was against the warden. The superiority
had always been such if someone tries to put a stop they had to pay the very
costly price sometimes their lives for this.
As the story progress, we saw the effect of Andy started changing Red as a
person. Once losing all the hope Red suddenly found new confidence after
spending time with Andy. In the climax of the movie we see Andy fleed the
jail through a narrow tunnel, he made in the prison wall using that small
hammer he got from Red. It took him not 600 years as mocked by Red but
20 long years to make but still, he did not lose hope of freedom and a better
life. Also shown in this part he used to hide his hammer in the Bibel. So
indeed he got “Salvation” through it. The way the director connected all the
dots all along the movie is really something which can give a movie buff
shivers.
Some scenes that surely will leave a mark on the views mind are when after
escaping Andy spreads his arms wide and looks into the sky and smiles of
the joy it surely can make every viewer emotional. Also the transition of Red, he
lost all his hope for getting out of prison after several years of rejection in
payroll but after Andy’s escape it gave him an immense self believe and the
the scene where he confidently answers all the questions from the jury and
finally gets his freedom the sense of hope that we can see in Red’s eyes
played very well by Morgan Freeman was implacable. And last but not the
least at the very end when both Red and Andy met again he was repairing a
boat on the beech as he used to dream while being in prison and Red came,
both were happy and free. This also was another masterpiece. The director
knitted the story so well there is zero loopholes or unanswered questions in
this movie.
As very rightfully adding the word Redemption in the title it indeed was
redemption for Red. Not only Red but also we can take some learnings from
this story that it’s never too late for anything staying positive and not only
just hoping for something instead committing to it and doing hard work to
make that hope eventually to reality pays off. It also teaches us friendship,
courage how to accept the goods as well as bads in life and instead of
complaining about how to deal with it for a better life.
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