Review of IMDb Top 250 Films - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

I intend to conduct a review of the top 250 films on the IMDb database. At a rate of two per month this will still take forever as the list constantly changes. I don't claim to be a very knowledgeable or intellectual film critic but have tremendous confidence in my ability to discern good direction, script and acting, and to expose films which have enjoyed / endured an undeserved reputation in my perhaps arrogant opinion. There may be a few minor spoilers in my reviews.

The Shawshank Redemption - Rating: 5.25 out of 6

This film sits consistently at No.1 of the IMDb Top 250 and I would not quarrel too hard about that. This is film-making of supreme elegance and judgement and it is a travesty (and I don't use that word lightly) that it lost out on the Best Picture Academy Award to none other than Forrest Gump, a spuriously sentimental film which, if I get around to reviewing it - which I hope I won't - deserves half the rating given to this film at best. There is nothing clever-clever about Shawshank, nothing pretentious, arty or even especially moralistic or thought-provoking, this is simply top-drawer entertainment from start to finish. Evidence, if there need be any, that pace is not needed to maintain interest (or narrative theme): this can be achieved through the sheer quality of individual scenes.

The acting and directing are top-notch throughout and my compliment on judgement above refers to the editing - nothing, anywhere, is out of place and each scene is not only relevant but gripping. In a slow-paced film the editing is of such importance and here it is spot on. My one niggle regarding the acting is the actor who plays Tommy - his was a pivotal role and perhaps greater charisma was needed to do it justice. Freeman and Robbins are both first-class but the most magnetic presence is Bob Gunton as the warden whose silent menace is palpable. Surely never has someone been so rightly cast. His 'masterpieces' are the "I'll cast you down with the sodomites" speech to Andy in the hole and his final scenes after the breakout. Bob Gunton is the warden surely; how could anyone act that well! Almost Shakespearean: Greed and Hypocrisy (pure Evil really) personified in a way that is nonetheless so cogent and believable.

Red's commentary is a very important part of the film, implicitly making clear to us that 'our gang' of inmates is essentially a good-natured one, cementing our earlier beliefs which start when they seem shocked and saddened by the taunted inmate's death near the start of the film. Freeman's warm, fatherly tones envelope us, provide the film with structure, yet never detract from the horrors that go on. The very understated score should also be noted: one is barely aware the film contains any music, so effective is it at subtly complementing the film instead of threatening to take over. Lovely music can be successful at unashamedly improving a movie (Somewhere in Time and Taxi Driver come to mind) - that is fine; I have a problem with films, already very good, where a great score manages to detract from the aesthetic while possibly improving box-office ratings. A great score could have ruined this film; the film-makers had enough confidence in it to resist.

There is a grace and gentility that runs throughout the film, absorbing without effort all the swearing. The unhurried pace, the scenes with Brooks Hatlen, Red's commentary, and some of the philosophical dialogue all contribute. As does the time period and the prisoners' vulnerability at being locked up, e.g. the awe when Rita Hayworth flicks her hair. And of course 'that' scene with the Mozart-playing record player: quite wonderful, again framed nicely by Freeman's dulcit tones. One of the highlights of a highlight in cinematic history.