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Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

# Review

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a successful banker, is imprisoned at the notorious Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Dufresne maintains his innocence and befriends a fellow prisoner, Red (Morgan Freeman).

The film is considered a modern-day classic for a reason. The performances are amazing by the entire cast, especially the two protagonists. The supporting cast, especially the antagonists, such as Bob Gunton’s hypocritical Warden Norton and Clancy Brown’s Captain Hadley, are extremely compelling.

The script, adapted from Stephen King’s novella, is very good. The story, which portrays a Kafkaesque legal system ripe for abuse and corruption, is both terrifying but also hopeful in a weird way. There are many important themes pertaining to the criminal justice system that gets explored within the film. The dialogue is very tight and the pacing is just perfect. The cinematography and sound design work in tandem to create suspense as well as relief. The film feels very cathartic, and has strong religious undertones.

# Conclusion

An amazing book adaptation.

# Overall rating: 8.9

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