The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 movie, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Red (Ellis Redding).

Plot

The movie begins with Andy Dufresne being wrongly convicted, despite persistent pleas of innocence, for the murder of his wife and her lover. He is sent to the fictitious Shawshank Prison (apparently based on Maine's State Prison), to serve his sentence.

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At the prison he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), and several other prisoners (including Brooks Hatlen, played by James Whitmore). His pre-prison, professional life as a banker, and his knowledge of accouting and income taxes earns him the trust of the captain of the guard, Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown), and eventually, the warden (Bob Gunton).

Related Topics:
Morgan Freeman - James Whitmore - Clancy Brown - Bob Gunton

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Life in the prison is not always enjoyable for Dufresne. He must undergo normal living conditions of a prison, but also injustice and mistreatment by the guards, and repeated rapes at the hands of fellow prisoners.

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However, Dufresne brings a sense of civility to his prison life through his hobby of working with rocks, treating others with civility, and continually defying authorities through simple acts of decency. In the end, it is revealed that Dufresne created a tunnel out of the prison, and escapes to Mexico.

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Red, his longtime friend in prison is without Andy in the later part of the film, and his only eventual release from prison is the attitude he has taken on from Andy. Daring to refer to one of the parole guards as "sonny", Red learns something about himself and the world Andy had demonstrated through his stay at Shawshank- that there is a place inside yourself and outside the prison that isn't made of stone. There are things to hope for- things greater than prison will lead you to believe.

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Nearing the end of the film, Red is released and finds himself going down the same path Brooks (Whitmore) taken years before; living in the same motel and working at the same job. It is a promise he made to Andy, however, that saves him from Brooks' way out: suicide. It is in this scene that Red understands a quote Andy muttered once in the prison yard, "Get busy living or get busy dying," to which Red responds, "That's damn right."

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The movie ends with Red discovering a letter from Dufresne that leads Red, when his prison term has ended, to the location of Dufresne. He makes an attempt at getting across the border to Mexico to meet his friend. His fate is uncertain, but it is now, at the end of the film, that Red understands the "hope" Andy had always had. The final scene shows the reuniting of the two men on a beautiful beach in Mexico.

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