Review of The Shawshank Redemption (1994) by Radoslav I — 06 Feb 2014

I enjoyed this the first time I saw it. But then again I was only an easily impressionable 14-year-old, craving for new emotion. Recently, more than 10 years later, I revisited it, and barely managed to finish it. Bluntly, it's as plain and trite as it gets. In fact, I believe Frank deliberately wanted it that way, so that it would increase its appeal to the casual movie goers. In general, I have no problem with a simple, feel-good movie that does not take itself too seriously and is not looking to change its audience in a profound way. However, this does and it seems it is succeeding unfortunately....

We have a story about hope and its redemptive qualities, portrayed by an innocent man that is sent to prison(Tim's character). It's told through the eyes of his closest prison friend(Morgan's character). The narrative framing and flow are rigid, there is no rhythm, no ebb and flow, no metaphors, no irony, just constant relentless narration - extreme simplicity. It's stripped to the point that you can only remember the generic message. Dangerous stuff. Some people carry it around and "apply" it diligently. The others, only observe the snowball effect.

I hope there are more intelligent endeavors out there. I hope everyone sees them and appreciates them. I hope...

1/5 - Skip this, if you are over 15. There is no art here - almost no contribution to the art of filmmaking and storytelling.