One of the movies I could not forget is The Shawshank Redemption. From the novella written by Stephen King. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, it's one of the few that I have downloaded earlier during the sembreak, but have delayed over and over again because I don't find old movies as fancy as the new ones. With modern brain and eyes that a lot of us have, we don't really get as amused with the idea of watching a 1994 Prison cell-set film as with watching CGI-filled and twisted films that, nowadays, even amateur film directors can produce.
Somewhat, I don't regret the suspensions of my viewing of this film not because it is not worth the watch, but because if I had watched it at an earlier day, my standards for movies would be far above the current set i have (which, I admit, is still fuzzy. I don't set criteria for movies. As long as it satisfies me, then I could probably state that it's a good one), and if that had happened, I wouldn't enjoy the other films I enjoyed before finally deciding to view this. Before watching this movie, I read numerous movie reviews, and was not able to read any unfavorable ones. Still, my appetite for the film wasn't stimulated. But having no other movies to watch, then I decided to turn to this download (oops).
I wasn't even a bit disinterested even for just a minute of the whole movie.
Special Effects: uncheck
CGI: uncheck
Convincing script: check
Character engagement: double check
Plot: triple check
The Shawshank Redemption does not use any bedazzlement to involve the viewers in its story. It has the simplest storyline. Important revelations are thrown out to the audience at a perfect timing. Not just because of that USUAL TWIST of events, but because of your involvement with the character AND the use of the script. Saying that the script is good is a definite understatement. "Everyone in here is innocent." Five words that will bring you to a bit of confusion of belief within the story.
Maybe the disinteresting part of the movie is the fact that it is set inside a prison. We've seen usual conflicts in these confinements: fistfights, prisoner-guard dispute, the escape schemes, and sexual harassment, perhaps? Yes, most of these are in the movie plus many other odd encounters in the prison cell, but why and how they are presented, that's what makes it different. But don't get me wrong. Those cliches aren't the only conflicts you will encounter. In fact, those are just the minor details. The major ones, you have to discover them yourself.
The prison cell idea also gives an impression of manic acting, the one that you expect how bullies act. You imagine rambles here and there, countless blood spills and bruises in numerous scenes. But believe it or not, those stereotypes are the antitheses of the protagonists' features and the movie's asset. Robbins' and Freeman's acting is superb, having the subtleness of a character inside the controversial Shawshank Prison. How they let me invest on their characters' emotions is so effective that I just felt what they felt. It seemed so effortless. Their acting. And come the time of the revelation of the murder, I just didn't care if he was the true murderer or not. How they are inside the prison cell was all that mattered. Being "institutionalized" is what they are best at.
It isn't just a simple movie with a simple story. It's an inspiration. How good it is at being simplistic is also how good it is at inspiring. The movie talks about HOPE, its detriments and its welfare. It's a feel good movie without depending on toilet humor, or humor per se. It's a movie that you just want to keep going and going. Well, of course you want it to end, but how the movie really ends just leaves you yearning for more. Like you want to further discover the lives of the characters. It lasts for more than two hours, and I fell asleep in most movies that last only for an hour and a half. This one, not even one blink I would like to happen, but of course, that's stupid. It's not the excitement or the adventure that keeps you hooked. It's the purity of the acting, the goodness and kindness in a room filled with convicts, their extraordinary deeds, and the adventure within oneself that glue your eyes on the screen.
The Shawshank Redemption is a film that transcends from the screen to the goodness of reality. It's an inspiration to many and should not be left unseen not just because many love it, but most importantly because it is crafted to be loved.
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