Classic Review: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption hit a rough start upon its initial release in 1994. With a difficult name and a lack of studio support, it didn’t impress at the box office. But upon its release on home video, it quickly became a fan favorite and earned cult status. Based on a short story by Stephen King, the film still holds up nearly 30 years later. It’s one hell of a film.

The Shawshank Redemption follows Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a banker who goes to prison for life for the murder of his wife and her lover. He was wrongly accused but his defense couldn’t prove his innocence. Dufresne is a quiet man who gets closer to a man named Red (Freeman) a well-respected inmate responsible for getting things from the outside in. During over two decades their friendship grow while Dufresne learns the ropes around prison. This is a perfect film as Darabont does an amazing job unfolding this story and taking his time to create this extraordinary experience. Shawshank doesn’t feel like a prison film. It’s quiet and reflexive, focusing on the relationship of these two men and how they learn and grow together. It’s a buddy film that happens to take place in a prison.

That doesn’t mean Shawshank is a safe haven. Violence and corruption are present. The inmates are neglected by the director and brutalized by the officers. Andy is sodomized and persecuted by a group of prisoners, leading him to traumatizing experiences. But what makes The Shawshank Redemption such a rewarding experience is that is gives us a cast of characters who are never defined by what they did or represented as caricatures. On the contrary: it shows us that even the people who did the worst can also learn and change and be accountable for what they did.

There is a funny thing about the rhythm of The Shawshank Redemption: it is a slow film, one that take its time to tell us its story over the course of its almost 2.5 hour running time, but it also feels like such a riveting experience. Many scenes have the characters just speaking to each other and nothing else, but you can still feel the excitement. It feels like they are planning to escape but they are just talking about life. That electricity happens because of a very well-drawn script by Darabont and the amazing chemistry between Freeman and Robbins. It’s just so beautiful and emotional to watch they bond and their friendship to unfold. Freeman was rightfully nominated for an Academy Award for his beautiful, reserved work as Red, but Robbins deserved a nod himself. They are great apart, but they are magic together. Aside from the two leads, the entire cast in engaging, especially James Whitmore as Brooks Hatlen, who strikes a very emotional chord with his character. Brooks spent most of his life in jail, and now that is about to set free, how will he adapt to a world he was barely a part of?

When looked from the outside, The Shawshank Redemption doesn’t seem to have much going for it. But after every rewatch, audiences feel inebriated by all the beauty and the brilliance of the storytelling where everyone involved were at the top of their games, from Thomas Newman’s score to Roger Deakins’ cinematography. This is a film that locks viewers in without us even noticing.

still courtesy of Castle Rock Entertainment

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