I’ve thought long and hard about what film I should write
about first: Should it be the last thing I saw at the cinema? That would be “Safe House” and although I quite liked
it I don’t think it deserves top billing. Perhaps the last film I watched at
home? That would be the 2nd half of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” which I watched while chopping onions
for dinner the other evening…but this has the potential of marking me out as a
Chick Flick kinda gal, and as I said in my last post my tastes run to the
eclectic…
I thought that maybe I should start with a bad film and get
you all acclimatised to my barbs and caustic sense of humour, but better you
discover that over time…
So, at the risk of eliciting some groans, I’ll discuss one
of my favourite films – “The Shawshank
Redemption.”
This may be a phenomenon common only to Britain, but has
anyone else noticed that the bigger a film gets; the more critical acclaim it
receives and the more box office success it enjoys, the more we seem to parody and
mock it later on?
I’ll give you an example: “Titanic.”
Raise your hand if you went to see it at the cinema back in 1997 and left
feeling suitably impressed at the cinematography and stunts? Granted I also left feeling mildly irritated by Kate Winslet’s accent and James Cameron’s decision to
cast, what looked like, a 13 year-old boy as the male lead. I was even
bordering on annoyed with the choice of music, but I’ll give the film it’s dues,
it was very impressive and it deserved the accolades it received. Fast-forward a
few years and the criticism and mocking is rife.
When a similar situation occurred in the wake of “Avatar” I had hoped that this was a
Cameron-specific occurrence, but alas I appear to have been mistaken as now
even my beloved Shawshank receives groans
and has apparently become a little hackneyed…well today I fly in the face of controversy
and defend my choice!
Evolving from a short story by Stephen King, the film, set
in Shawshank Prison, tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) after he
is found guilty for the murder of his wife and her lover. Told from the
perspective of “Red” (Morgan Freeman), a fellow inmate, we see the quiet,
sometimes quirky Andy; use his skills from his past life to develop friendships
on the inside.
There’s little I can criticise about this film. The writing,
the choice of location, the acting, the soundtrack…it all just works. While the
overall theme of redemption is brilliant with every viewing I find another
character or plot device to love, but without fail Brooks Hatlen has me in
tears every time.
Some trivia for those of you who also know and love this
film, both Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford were considered for the role of
Red, who was originally a red-haired Irishman, before director Frank Darabont cast
the amazing Morgan Freeman in the role.
While I find it hard to believe that anyone hasn’t already seen
the film, I won’t give any of the plot away; just watch it and thank me later.
Year of release: 1994
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William
Sadler
Rating: 5/5
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