When assigned this Blog I thought of my favorite movie of all time and had no problem writing a review for it. Here it is, my own review on The Shawshank Redemption.
As preposterous as it is appealing, ``The Shawshank Redemption'' takes a straightforward, soul-stirring novel by horror writer Stephen King and turns it into a somber, bloated prison drama designed to pump you up on inspiration.
Thanks to fine performances and beautiful photography, you get that inspirational jump-start frame after frame. And you get generous helpings of the novella's deft ironic humor about a man quietly turning a corrupt system against itself.
The film features a brilliant, touching performance by Morgan Freeman. As a murderer with a life sentence in Maine's brutal Shawshank State Prison, Freeman's unforgettable ``Red'' Redding has basset-sad eyes. But those eyes are alive every minute, seizing on rays of hope in a dead-end existence. Veteran convict Red immediately recognizes something unusual about a newly arrived inmate named Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins. The new kid is aloof. He lacks that edge, that gallows humor and swagger. He's an enigma.
The film focuses on Dufresne, convicted in 1946 of murdering his unfaithful wife and her lover. Given a life sentence, Dufresne, a soft-spoken banker with emotions bubbling under the surface, is sent to Maine's toughest joint. Although he keeps his distance and is obviously not the tattooed working-class type, he befriends Red, known for being able to smuggle goods into the prison. Dufresne also gets chummy with an old-timer named Brooks (played by James Whitmore).
Robbins, who puts the enigmatic twinkle of a half smile into his fascinating portrayal of a man with a mysterious agenda -- you know throughout that he's innocent -- makes a name for himself by using his banker's skills. Before long, he's in great demand as a tax preparer and financial adviser to the prison guards.
Some of ``The Shawshank Redemption'' comes across as outrageously improbable. Yet the film keeps pulling you back with its sense of striving humanity slowly turning the tables against evil.
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