So here’s the second part of my favourite movie series and as you can see by the title my second favourite film is The Shawshank Redemption. The Hunger Games and The Shawshank Redemption are sort of joint number one but I had to put one above the other.This post wont be as lengthy as The Hunger Games post because i haven’t read the book so i can’t point out the differences, but i’ll try my best to go into depth about why i love this film. I think it goes without saying this is an absolutely amazing and touching film and i don’t know of one person who doesn’t like it.
Basic Plot: After the murder of his wife, banker Andrew Dufresne is sent to Shawshank Prison, where the usual unpleasantness occurs. Over the years, he keeps hope and gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially “Red”, and goes on an unforgettable journey with Red inside the prison walls. Spoilers. Andy escapes, becomes rich, makes all his dreams come true and then meets up with Red after he also gets out of Shawshank.
Now, i don’t know about you, but when i see a run time of over 2 hours i question watching a film because i can’t sit for a long time without getting bored. But with the Shawshank Redemption i can sit the length of time because it has you hooked from the very first scene. The film isn’t just about prison life, it ultimately gives an uplifting message about the value of hope which is just one of the beautiful messages this film gives as well as “Get busy living, or get busy dying”. This film for me, is also a bit of a tear jerker and if you don’t cry, you’re either made of stone or don’t have a heart – the two scenes that make me tear up are: Where brooks dies and the ending when Red and Andy run and hug each other on the beach, because right there you can see how much they both actually value their friendship. To me, the friendship between Andy and Red is a main theme through out the film. Initially the bond is Fatherly, Red is the old guy and Andy is the new guy so Red takes Andy under his wing. 
Andy is intelligent and Red sees this, they both develop a mutual respect for each other as Andy goes to Red for advice and eventually Red ends up asking Andy for advice after they have that mutual respect. They start out as complete social opposites, Red from a poor black background and Andy from a privileged white background but both soon learn that they have much to learn from each other and breakdown typical social barriers when they realise they are really all the same, prisoners with the same hopes , dreams and desires as all men.
Andy is a brilliant character in this film, you can see the emotion in his eyes constantly even when he isn’t saying anything, he stands up to other inmates and even the Warden, which gets him into a mess with a long time in ‘The Hole’. Andy continues to insist that he is innocent throughout the entirety of the film and after Warden Norton removes Tommy from the prison, and also any chance of Andy being proven innocent, Andy thinks enough is enough and makes his escape from the Prison. Some way to Stick it to the man, ay?
The film is in voice-overed by Red which has caused a bit of controversy as to who is the main character – Red or Andy? In my eyes, Andy is the main character – we know his background of how he got into prison and he is the main focus throughout the whole film so it came to a shock when i saw some reviews where they said Red was the main character. Red is the “the guy who can get stuff” inside Shawshank, and has a good relationship with the inmates and guards. I like Red, because i like Morgan Freeman – enough said.
A main theme throughout the film is Freedom. The theme of freedom is represented in both the movie by the rock-hammer that Andy asks Red for. Andy informs him what a rock-hammer is and why he would like one. Having the rock hammer makes Andy feel a sort of freedom while he is in prison because he is able to do something that he had done before he was in prison; before when he was free. Another example of the theme of freedom is shown when Andy gets beer for all the inmates that work on the prison’s roof with him. Andy wants the inmates to have a sense of freedom. They all feel such freedom that they felt that they “could have been drinking beer and tarring the roof of one of our own houses.”. The sense of Freedom is one that i keep close to me, i like to be my own person and maybe that’s one of the reasons this theme stood out to me.
The main thing i like about this film is the fact Andy’s escape was a mystery to me throughout the whole film until it all got revealed in one go – his escape was amazing, you can’t lie to yourself and say it wasn’t. The way no one knew about what Andy was doing in that little cell of his every night amazed me, especially when you see how far he had to dig with that Rock Hammer of his. You can see Andy’s escape by clicking here. There is just one thing that baffles me though: How did Andy stick the poster back down over the hole in the wall?
The ending of the film is beautiful, Andy makes all his dreams come true just because of one little thing he kept with him during his time in the prison – hope. The moment Red and Andy hug on the beach makes for an amazing ending because we can all see the true meaning of their friendship and the whole film. Overall i’d give this film a 9.5/10.
So until the next favourite movie review, Scarlett x
Scarlett's Sanity 