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SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
timothy bottoms / morgan freeman

as reviewed by Jack Crompton at Amazon.com, October 1, 2004

An epic tale of hard earned justice and triumph over evil...

Everyone loves to see truth and justice prevail. This is a tremendous film about these ideals that is told with great skill, style and authenticity.

Taking place in a mid 21st century prison, The Shawshank Redemption is the story of the incarceration of a basically good man in a thoroughly corrupt penal system. And a miserable place it certainly is. It reveals a penetrating look at the dark side of humanity, on both sides of the fence. Most importantly, this is a story of the power of true friendship, respect and the desire for freedom that is within the heart of every human being.

The strength of the film is in the narration by one of the other inmates, Red (Morgan Freeman), himself an innmate for several decades who gradually befriends the ‘newbie’ Andy DeFraine (Timothy Bottoms). The story is gradually told of how Andy copes with the brutality of both the other violent inmates, the cruel thugs of the prison guards and the thoroughly psychotic, evil warden. We watch as Andy cleverly plots his emancipation and eventual triumph. Most satisfying is to watch how the warden’s complex web of criminal deeds are finally revealed in the light of truth.

The final scene of the reunion of these two inmates on the shores of Mexico is quite inspiring. Shawshank stands along side The Green Mile as the best prison movies ever made, celebrating truly noble characters. In my opinion, it is among the best of films in any category.

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