Day 1 - 01/01/2019

  At the only prison where everybody’s innocent, time goes by at its own pace while the convicts make the best out of it. Going beyond the obvious storylines of crimes and violence when talking about jail, Shawshank is the place which forcingly throws you in a cell but makes you want to stay for the family.

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  It wasn't initially like this though, that was, until the arrival Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a young banker wrongfully sentenced for two life terms due to the murder of his wife and her lover. Being the rookie at unknown territory, he maintains his cool and eventually forms a friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman), one of the veterans inside. Gradually, Andy finds ways to show his importance as a clever man and form alliances with Warden Norton (Bob Gunter), an unlikely connection that brings benefits to both sides. This partnership rapidly increases the reputation and structure of Shawshank, making it truly feel like a more tolerable place.

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  Knowing the little day-to-day interactions of nobodies such as them is what brings the plot together, making it relatable and satisfying to know they are also human despite prisoners. Frank Darabont further enhances our views of their day-to-day with the narrator style of telling stories, allowing the audience to catch up on the system by the wise thoughts of Red at well-paced level. The balance between the old and the new is comfortably leveled and it's a satisfying journey to follow them through their daily triumphs. The attention to detail also brings a sense of a complete world, such as the foreshadowing reference made by Andy on The Count of Monte Cristo or the variety of personalities such as Tommy (Gil Bellows), a wild you adult coming into scene to shake things up. Despite his low screen time, he had high impact and single handedly transformed the atmosphere at Shawshank,  definitely a surprising highlight. Finally, this movie is a prime example of inspiration, which shows someone coming from the dirt (in many cases quite literally), that eventually has leverage over the most powerful members at the prison.

 

  The few negative critics to point out is Robin's lack of charisma, despite being somewhat intentional due to his personality, the cliché corrupt and selfish leader as Warden Norton and the guard that has assaulting prisoners as a hobby, as Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown).

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  Taking all aspects into account, it's a movie well past 2 hours that feels like you generic 90 minutes drama movie in terms of easiness to watch. The characters are likable, scenes are believable and the plot is something many can be going through at this very moment. In hindsight, it's a true shame it didn't get any Oscars despite the nominations among Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction overall deserves a 9.2 stones out of 10, due to the making of a complete story through and through. 

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