Movie Review: The Shawshank Redemption

 "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged."

— Red, The Shawshank Redemption 

Full Movie Name (as Released):	The Shawshank Redemption
Origin:	Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"
Movie Genre:	Drama/Crime
Release Date:	September 10, 1994, in TIFF and September 23, 1994, in the US
Cast:	Morgan Freeman (Red), Tim Robbins (Andy), Bob Gunton (Norton), William Sadler (Heywood), James Whitmore (Brook), Clancy Brown (Hadley), Gil Bellows (Tommy).
Director:	Frank Darabont
Production:	Castle Rock Entertainment
Age Restriction:	TV-14 in the US [Varied in different countries. Ref: IMDb Parental Guide]
IMDB Rating:	9.3/10
Critical Acclamation & Nomination:	1.   Nominee for 7 Oscar and 2 Golden Globe Awards  2.   "Forboding" and "Well-crafted" cinematography- by The Hollywood Reporter  3.   "Undeniably powerful and moving"- Rolling Stone praising the acting of Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Popular Awards:	1.    Outstanding Achievements in Cinematography award by the American Society of Cinematography [Awards, IMDb]
Any Notable Recognition:	The oak tree used in the film became a symbol of hope and attracted thousands of visitors annually. It was named The Shawshank Tree and later turned into The Shawshank Redemption memorabilia in 2017.

Theme and Summary of The Shawshank Redemption Movie

The Shawshank Redemption thematizes a blind law and order system that picks and throws convicts into the deserted and hostile prison, with a tag called "guilty" on each of the unfortunate prisoners. And it hardly matters whether they're truly criminals or not.

The movie proceeds to show us a glimpse of what a prisoner's life could be, depicting the strict regulations, unquestionable submissiveness to authority, unaccountable punishment, and uncertain life that can be snatched away by animalistic inmates or a heartless jail authority on any given day. 

The friendship between Andy and Red makes the story loveable and it's this friendship that eventually sails the movie's main theme, 'hope', to the port. 

Red's long-term penitentiary and submission represent Shawshank's strict regulations inside its cold and solid walls; he terms it as 'institutionalized' after passing long years of horror and ultimately, a mechanism of habit. 

Conversely, Andy represents a vibe of self-sufficiency and resilience in a subtle mode against the harsh atmosphere of Shawshank, which Red observes in him in a muse. Their opposite disposal yet mutual understanding builds a solid bond that muses them both a tune of freedom within the prison enclosure.  

TSR also centralizes 'hope' through the middle part of the movie where the protagonist Andrew (Andy) Dufresne strives to put it into the hearts of his inmates, especially his jail-buddy Ellis Boyd Redding, aka, Red. Hope seems to be a fantasy in the eyes of Shawshank's prisoners; something which is dangerous and heart-breaking, hence, unbearable. 

However, Andy doesn't give up 'hope,' which he pours into Red, saying,

"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." — Andrew Dufresne in letter to Red, TSR.

Andy's hope takes him a long way, literally through a long-sighted plan and measures, ending up with a 'long crawling escapade' from the Shawshank prison. 

The Shawshank indeed attains its 'redemption' when Andy's master plan not only gets him to flee the prison but exposes the corruption and crime of Warden Norton and his accomplice Captain Hadley behind his grand escape.  

Plot and Subplots in The Shawshank Redemption Movie

Plot

The hotshot banker Andrew (Andy) Dufrense finds his wife Linda cheating on him with her golf tutor Glen and makes a resolution of vengeance. However, fate has its call and Andy's wife gets killed, putting Andy on a trial for the convict. The judge finds Andy guilty and gives him a two life sentence in the prison of the Shawshank.

A new life in the prison starts for Andy, much obliged to the unquestionable authority of the Shawshank prison. The story then goes on from the narrative perspective of Andy's inmate Ellis Boyd Redding, aka, Red, much focusing on Andy's nature, vibe, adaptation to the Shawshank's environment, Andy's escape from the Shawshank, and Red's reunion with Andy in Mexico. 

Subplots 

1. Warden Norton As A Two-Faced Jailor

Warden Samuel Norton appears in his first scene in the movie with a ruling yet sheepish aura about himself. He and he himself only authorizes everything in Shawshank, from overlooking the prisoners' day-to-day living, their behavior and submissiveness, to giving out punishment to whoever deserves it as per his rules. 

Norton uses a Bible as a facade to his corrupt nature, attempting to appear as a priest to the prisoners' salvation, which in reality, is a religious mask to control them however he wishes for his own interest, as he states, 

"I believe in two things, discipline and the Bible."

—Warden Samuel Norton, Shawshank State Prison. 

Norton sees financial merit in Andy and immediately appoints him as his money manager in order to neutralize his unaccounted money flow. 

Purpose: This subplot puts Andy in a more decent position, precisely, a model prisoner. Andy utilizes this opportunity to the fullest, uplifting his fellow prisoners' condition while scheming a long-sighted benefit for himself. 

2. Aggressive Homosexual Inmates: The Sisters

Andy's very first nightmare in Shawshank was his confrontation with a group of homosexual inmates, namely "The Sisters," led by Bogs Diamond who acted with impunity. They molested Andy several times before Andy gets his upper hand eventually. Andy helps Captain Hadley in his money laundering which in turn, gets Bogs brutally beaten to paralysis by the Captain. 

Purpose:  Getting apprehended and molested by the inmates brushes Andy off the posh and soft skin he carried before coming to prison. It puts him on guard and helps him bring out his best weapon, brain, to survive in Shawshank. 

3. A Friendship between Andy and Red

A notable subplot in the movie is the friendship between Red and Andy. Although Red misinterprets Andy's sullenness for a weak character when he arrives at Shawshank for the first time, he soon realizes that Andy wasn't another windy guy in the prison and starts liking him. 

Andy realizes soon that Red's accomplice would prove beneficial for him in prison, so he pays Red to bring him a rock hammer. What started with a beneficial exchange between these two guys within a prison, grows to be a trustworthy friendship for a lifetime even outside of Shawshank. 

Purpose: A loyal friendship in any story, novel, or movie creates straight but multiple perspectives. "The Shawshank Redemption" is no different from this story-building ethos as we can see the Shawshank, its inmates, its authorities, and the main characters from two significant points of view: Andy's and Red's. Although Red narrates the whole storyline, Andy drives the plot as a central character from the beginning to the end.  Red observes and describes all characters around him while Andy stays undeterred towards his objective; in other words, the movie's main plot.

4. Andy's Banking Merit Utilized 

When Andy risks a beating from Captain Hadley and helps him out in money laundering, he manages to get himself a better position in jail, exempting the daily manual labor and the molestation from the "Sisters." Authorized by Warden Norton, he becomes the money manager for all the jail officers and guards. What's more, Norton takes advantage of Andy's financing skills to manage the dirty money he acquired through the inmates' inside-out program and buying discounted construction equipment. 

Purpose: This part of the movie briefly unfolds a side of the world outside the jail, a dirty aspect of the modern capitalism of the society. Andy being a jail accountant, represents how out in the so-called societal system, the big shots carry out massive daylight robberies by employing bright executives, while the poor civilians observe and do nothing. Warden Norton being the unquestionable authority in Shawshank replicates the same by appointing Andy in a financial scam. 

5. Brook's 50 Years Imprisonment Expiry And His Suicide 

Brook Hatlen is the librarian in the Shawshank who was passing his 50 years sentence when Andy met him for the first time in the movie. Brook's reason behind being a prisoner isn't revealed in the movie, however, he plays a significant role in Andy's prison life. Andy becomes an assistant to Brook in the library. 

As he comes to know about his release upon completion of the 50 years term, Brook gets ahead of himself and attempts to kill his inmate, Heywood. Brook plans to stay in jail by committing another crime as he's scared of leaving the walls where he'd spent a split century of his life. The horror in Brook's mind is only pronounced by Red's explanation that Brook's not a bug, rather—

"He's institutionalized."

Purpose: This part of the movie makes us pensive about how a person's life transition might feel like being passed on to an alien world of which he knew nothing of for half a century. Like Red explains how Brook was someone important as a librarian within Shawshank's territory, but absolutely 'none' out in the free society. 

6. Red's Parole Hearings Rejected Twice before Finally Approved 

Ellis Boyd Redding, aka, Red receives two parole hearings during his term in Shawshank, which nonetheless, get rejected. Red fails to convince the jury about his rehabilitation on both occasions. 

Finally, as the board in his third parole hearing asks Red if he was feeling 'rehabilitated,' Red retreats from playing the obedient game. Red expresses that the term rehabilitation means nothing to him anymore but a waste of time. His only realization is that he was a naive young man when he committed the crime of killing someone and that if he could, he would talk some sense to his younger version. 

Purpose: What makes this subtle yet sensible subplot brilliant is its utter bashing of the system. Red's reluctance in accentuating 'rehabilitation' with the parole board shows how inhuman or inconsiderate a law could prove itself by extending a man's penitentiary for no valid reason. Red realized his crime long ago, probably even before his very first parole hearing, but to no use at all. He had to spend in prison more than he deserved and asking him for rehabilitation seems a shameless joke after 40 years. 

A Semi Plot Twist in The Shawshank Redemption

A seeming plot twist occurs in the movie when Tommy Williams, a young inmate of Andy, brings a new intel to Andy's case. Tommy came to Shawshank in a 2-year term for stealing in 1965. Tommy wishes to sit for the GED test and Andy prepares him for it. Tommy loses his patience and takes his frustration on Andy. Andy, however, sends his test paper, which passes Tommy with a C+ average. 

Tommy realizes his irrational outburst at Andy although Red tells Tommy that Andy was proud of him. He gets to know Andy's case from Red which shocks him. He then reveals a story to Andy and Red about his time in a cell with a prisoner named Elmo Blatch. Elmo tells Tommy about killing a golf pro and his girlfriend while mugging them. Elmo's description and timing of the murders suggest that the victims got to be Andy's wife Linda and her lover, Glen. 

The shocking revelation makes Andy run to Warden Norton and request him to look into his case. Warden, however, remains indifferent to this information and denies helping Andy. Andy assures Norton of not exposing his money laundering, which Norton takes as a threat, and sends Andy off to 'the hole,' a dark cell in prison, for a month. 

At this point of the movie, it felt there was a possibility of Andy's case being reopened and that he might receive justice. But it doesn't happen because Warden Norton extends Andy's staying in 'the hole' for one more month. Not only that, Norton even manages to kill Tommy with the help of Captain Hadley, so Tommy's words die out with him within the prison.

It seems like an attempt of bringing a twist in the storyline but killing the idea before it matures fully; at least to the audience who never read the novella "Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption." In the book, Andy never receives a new trial on his case as well and ends up escaping the Shawshank prison.

Final Thoughts 

The Shawshank Redemption remains one of the best movies Hollywood has ever produced. Though not commercially, the movie won millions of hearts through its smart script, neat cast, plot dimensions, and superb ending. 

The ending leaves a lasting feel-good tone as we see Andy flees Shawshank with a great fortune ahead and Red, his best friend in prison, reunites with him in Mexico. 

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