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Franssen English 11A 28 October 2013 The Shawshank Redemption- Locking You in From Minute One From the moment the rain pitter-patters and the thunder rumbles through the speakers to the fading of the sunny beach to credits, The Shawshank Redemption was enthralling and gripping. With layered character development and a plot that opens new doors after every twist and turn, its difficult not to be sucked in to the mystery of Shawshank. Once a bank vice president, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) finds himself imprisoned for a crime he claims he did not commit. During his two consecutive life terms for the murder of his wife and her lover, he puts this time in prison to good use by befriending the guards, indulging himself in rock carving, helping the warden with tax returns, and remodeling the library. With a central theme of the value of hope, The Shawshank Redemption being the value of hope finds Andy clinging to every last strand to get by. Tim Robbins interpretation and transformation into Andy along with a flawless performance makes it seem as if acting is second nature to him. It seems as if Robbins knows all too well the horror and hopelessness of imprisonment. Close to ninety percent of The Shawshank Redemption takes place on the drab grounds and dark hallways of Shawshank. Shot on location at Mansfield Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio,

the gothic and medieval look to Shawshank Prison gives a sense of hopelessness and depression. This sense is accentuated by the lengthy time frame of the movie, nineteen years. The first person to take notice of Andy is Morgan Freemans character, Red. Red is a pessimistic lifer known as the man who can get things. He sees something in Andy in the way he walks around like hes on the outside and he quickly takes a liking to him. The Shawshank Redemption is profoundly unique and unlike other prison movies in that the movie doesnt focus solely on how brutal prison is and how all who are in wish to be out, living their lives. Life at Shawshank is all the men have come to know and the thought of being placed on parole causes feelings of panic in some. The prospect of freedom, while seemingly a good thing, is frightening to some inmates. With Shawshank being their whole world for so many years, life on the outsidehas moved on and left them behind. With the central theme of the value of hope, in The Shawshank Redemption, Robbins portrays Dufresne as a hopeful man in a hopeless world. From spending months in the hole to incessant sexual assault from the Bull Queers, the only thing keeping Andy alive is the hope of one day escaping. Hope is a powerful thing. It seems so trivial, yet it keeps men alive in

unimaginable situations.
Director and screenplay writer Frank Darabont captured all the right qualities in this film with the perfect supporting characters and with seemingly minor scenes resulting in deep resonance. Darabont recognizes and reveals the true dangers, hardships, and brutality of the dark prison life while making the viewer feel hopeful, just as Andy does.

The Shawshank Redemption absolutely and undoubtedly deserves five out of five stars. The acting by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman was outstanding; they interpreted their characters masterfully and produced something worth recognition.