The movie is a crime drama set in the late 1940s through to the 1960s. Andy Dufresne and Ellis ‘Red’ Redding are the two main characters. Andy is a quiet, cultured, intelligent man and a successful banker. Ellis is quite the opposite, and although he is educated, he hails from a background of poverty and has been incarcerated since he was a young man. Andy comes in clinging to hope and whereas Ellis urges him to forget it for his sanity’s sake. Other famous characters are Warden Samuel Norton who exploits Andy’s financial skills for illegal profit, Captain Byron Hadley the sadist and brutal head of guards and Tommy Williams. Tommy Williams is a new inmate who is incarcerated at Shawshank prison almost for twenty years. He tells a story where for the first time viewers discover that Andy was innocent of the charges against him.
The Plot
It starts in the courthouse where Andy Dufresne (Tim Robins) is sentenced to a life time sentence for killing the wife. At the prison, he meets Ellis ‘Red’ Redding (Morgan Freeman) and become close friends. With the help of Red, Andy secures tools that he later uses to escape. Andy also uses his financial knowledge to help other inmates including the warden and captain to manage their financial matters. The Warden Norton particularly uses Andy for works in both his prison and other prisons and his personal gain. Andy helps him to launder money that he has received through bribes and exploiting prisoners for cheaper labor costs.
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Through a new inmate, Andy learns that another person confessed to the murders for which he was convicted. He tries to tell Warden Norton, but he will hear nothing of it. Hadley later murders Tommy on Norton’s orders to silence him. Andy plots his escape and in the process releases evidence that exposes the criminal activity perpetrated by the warden. This leads to Warden Norton committing suicide and the arrest of Captain Hadley. The movie ends when Red joins him when he is eventually paroled.
Analysis
Looking at the time in which the movie is set, it unsurprising to find that there are no special effects in the film. The conflict that Andy faces in the movie is whether to hold on to hope that one day he will be found innocent or to resign to face the reality of a lifetime sentence. His confidant Red, who had been in prison for quite some years, also encourages him on the same. However, hope finally came many years later in the unlikely form of Tommy Williams. Unfortunately, this ray of hope was again snatched away from him when Warden Norton saw it as impedance to his plans.
I find the realism in the movie quite interesting. Andy’s character is not likable at first when the viewer is led to believe that he murdered his wife and lover yet remained unnervingly cool and unsympathetic about it. However, we learn later that he is innocent and I like the way he navigates the life behind bars. The movie points out how life is can be unfair sometimes, and that bad thing can happen to good people. It also points out the capabilities of the human spirit. How someone can rise above any setback and conquer it with little to no tools no matter how long it takes.
The story is quite plausible in that although Andy faces a lifetime sentence of a crime he did not commit and everything appears hopeless, he still finds his way out in the unanticipated way. It sad that many innocent people are often convicted of crimes they did not commit. Andy was innocent and even the prison warden was aware, but still, no one cared enough to do anything about it. I therefore second Andy’s decision to escape since he is left with no better option. This decision can influence people to find their way of tackling issues regardless of the risks involved rather than waiting for others to come to their rescue. This movie is reasonably enjoyable, and I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys both realistic and inspiring films.
