The Shawshank Redemption

With the random number generator, I got #1 this week. So I was told by fate to watch what people have proclaimed as the best movie of all-time: The Shawshank Redemption. This movie is widely considered to be one of the best of all-time, showing itself on tons of accredited best movie lists, so the only question is whether I will consider the best I've ever seen.

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First things first, Morgan Freeman is in this movie, so that already made me love it. Just an incredible actor with the best voice in the world. Back on topic, a short synopsis of The Shawshank Redemption is that a man (Tim Robbins) who claims his innocence is convicted of killing his cheating wife and her lover, sent to a prison amongst some of the worst criminals in the world, and we get to watch how it all plays out. It's based off a novella by Stephen King, who is perhaps my favorite author ever, but it lacks the supernatural elements that made me love him. That doesn't detract at all from the movie however.

The main theme of the movie is, to me, that it is important above all to have hope in a hopeless place. Tim Robbins' character is faced with every reason to lose hope, but he never does. He keeps his integrity in a place so lacking it, and refuses to give in to the nature that so many other people have. Not only does he fight for his own integrity, but he fights for the integrity of his fellow inmates. He takes those that society have given up on and lets them believe in something good for the first time in a while.

While I think this movie is very, very good, I do not think I would proclaim it as the best movie of all time. I'm a sucker for a great plot twist, so Fight Club and Inception will be hard to usurp from my top spot. That being said, this movie does an incredible job of telling its story straight with no unnecessary scenes. Every shot was meticulously picked and adds immeasurably to the plot in its own way. While not my favorite movie, this may be the best done movie I've seen, if that makes sense. Adapting works from written versions is NEVER easy, but this film pulls it off beautifully. Definitely in my Top 10.

Worth your time.