The Shawshank Redemption - Fear Can Hold You Prisoner, Hope Can Set You Free

Theme

The movie is a touching depiction of prison life. Andrew Dufresne, vice president in a big bank, has been convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. He is innocent of the crime but in the face of strong circumstantial evidence is sentenced to two back to back life sentences in a high security prison - Shawshank. It is the end of life for him, at least the life that he has ever known. Like Andrew almost every other man in Shawshank knows that he is probably never going to see his friends, family and loved ones again. These people have no hope and they have no future. But life is such a beautiful phenomenon that even in the face of such a dreary, monotonous existence, they try to find a balance. To look at these people, one would hardly think that they are doomed – they joke, play, eat, chat – they live normal lives, or as normal a life as they can.

Andrew tries to make a difference in a variety of ways. He writes a letter to the state senate every week asking for funds for the prison library. After six years, they get tired and sends him some old books and two hundred dollars and plead him to stop writing those letters. Andrew then starts writing two letters every week. Eventually, he is able to build a large library with books, music records and other facilities for the prisoners. He teaches the prisoners and helps some of them pass High School. He even helps the guards fill their tax returns. The only thing he is probably trying to do is to make his life worthwhile.

Andrew makes friends with Ellis Boyd Redding (Red for short). He is a philosophical character and his monologues about prison life with the soft melancholy music playing in the background are touching as well as insightful – “When they put you in that cell and those bars slam home, that’s when you know its for real. Whole life blown away in the blink of an eye and nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.” Brooks is an old man. He has been at Shawshank for fifty years and finally its time to go out to the outside world. Is Brooks happy at the prospect of freedom? As Red says “Brooks is institutionalized….In here he is an important man….Outside he is nothing….Just a used up con with arthritis in both hands….These Walls are funny. First you hate ‘em and then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes and you get to depend on ‘em. That’s institutionalized……They send you here for life and that’s exactly what they take.” Simply beautiful.

The ending of the movie is a fantastic surprise and I wouldn’t want to take anything away from those who haven’t seen the film. A must see for those who appreciate meaningful cinema but certainly not for those who prefer fast paced and “happening” films.

Trivia

• The film was not very successful when it was released in theatres but later on through the home video market it became a huge hit.
• It has been voted as the second greatest movie ever made in Internet Movie Database’s Top 250 Films of all time after the Godfather.
• It was nominated for seven Oscars – Best Movie, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. It failed to win even a single Oscar.
• It is based on Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”