The Shawshank Redemption

This is one movie which I have heard a lot about, and left unwatched. If I had to summarise the movie in one word, its all about HOPE. A brief runthrough of the plot follows, and some final thoughts about the movie.

The Plot

Its about a banker’s one quarter life in a prison, and his glorious escape. In around 1940s, Andy gets convicted for his wife’s and her lover’s murder, despite being innocent. He is awarded a lifetime imprisonment, twice. First few days go unspoken, until he finds a friend in Red, an Irish prisoner who had spent 20 years in prison. Red is the go-to guy to get things into prison, and Andy’s first order is for a rockhammer. Its bought on pretext of carving chess pieces out of stone. One fine day while waterproofing a roof with his friends, Andy happens to help the evil jailer in saving tax on the proceeds from his long separated millionaire brother. He earns beer for his coworkers. And there it starts. Eventually, he is shifted to an easier job of a librarian, and additional charge of tax-filing for all the jailers. He works along Mr. Brooks, who served sentence in jail for 50 years. One day, Mr. Brooks is sent out on parole. An old man with severe arthritis, left out to earn on his own. He gives up on hope. Andy takes charge of library, and sends letters to admin for years, finally earning 500 dollars per year and setting up a rich library. He also taught young prisoners to clear school exams. One such boy happens to have met the real criminal behind Andy’s crime. This boy dies after he agrees in front of warden to prove Andy innocent. Reason? Andy knows all the corruption secrets about warden, and is his cash cow. Close to this time, Andy completes 20 years in prison, and successfully carved out a tunnel in prison walls, hidden behind a poster. On a thunderous night, he escapes the Shawshank prison, and is reborn as Stevens, a character he created himself to hold the money laundered by the warden. Warden dies of guilt on being caught, and Andy starts his new fishing project in Mexico. He also invites Red to join him, which is marked by the famous oaktree scene, which holds a letter for Red, and the transit money. Red is saved on time, from the fate that Brooks suffered. They both ride on hope, to a free life ahead.

Thoughts

The movie is about hope, at every point in life. Hope of being saved from small troubles (the sisters), convincing people for the good (the weekly letters for years), transforming others lives (the library and teaching), attaining freedom and living a life your dreamt of. Sometimes things are out of our control (the conviction), but it is in our hands to use our present time wisely, keeping up hope and working for the future. As an individual character, Andy is inspiring. Being excellent at what you do, grabbing the chances to serve your people (the roof), interesting hobbies (sculpture, reading) and widespread knowledge base (geology). He left a mark in the hearts of his people through his grit and determination. And from the conclusion, dreams worth living for.