Shawshank Redemption

I started watching this movie because it was IMDB's top movie of their top 250 movies. I have decided to watch them all, as best as I am able. As the top movie of all time, I had built up a lot of hopes around this movie. I was not disappointed. The movie starts watching Andy (Tim Robbins) take the blame for a crime he didn't commit. He then moves to prison where he eventually makes friends with both the criminals and the wardens as he steals money for them.

The piece clearly follows the friendship of Andy and Red (Morgan Freeman) as they go from prison to freedom, and remain the best of friends. It was beautifully done, and I deeply cared for both characters before the movie was over. One of the best scenes was when they murdered the man who knew that Andy had not committed the crime. You could see how dishonest the judicial system really is in just that one moment.

One thing that bothered me was why the law would not follow through and look into the city on the postcard that Red got, though. That was their best lead, and they acted as if it did not exist.

The movie also provided a look at institutionalization, a psychiatric condition that exists in prisons and mental institutes. Two of the characters, Red and the librarian have this condition. The librarian kills himself, but we see hope that Red will overcome it in the end. It was also interesting because it took place from the 1940s to 1960s, and there was an interracial cast of characters, and the two men who become closest of friends are interracial. This was an interesting choice, and I wonder if it was done on purpose in 1994 when the movie was made to make a point about the time it was about, or whether in the 90s they just didn't think about that much anymore.

Overall, I give the movie an A.