The Shawshank Redemption is a drama packed film, which creates a roller coaster of emotions for the viewer throughout the movie. Andy Dufresne, a bank merchant, has been convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, in which he is sentenced to life imprisonment in Shawshank prison where him a fellow inmate bond for years, eventually gaining freedom through different means.
Not only does the plot leave place for a range of emotions but it also conveys the reality of prison for men, by giving focused profiles on certain characters . Attachments to characters are created, which alternatively leads to audiences from varying background enjoying the film. The simple plot branches off to many events that occur in Andy Dunfresne's sentence, which bring shock,joy and relief to viewers.
A highlight for myself is the ending. In my opinion,the ending was very ambiguous, and could be interpreted as a dream due to the lack of words and the high angle aerial shot. This scene gives an impression of an illusion of whether Andy ad Red reunited or was it a figment of Reds imagination.
However to some degree the violence within the film can make it difficult to watch due to the harsh reality it portrays,for some audiences this maybe too realistic or upsetting which can put people off watching the film or prevent groups of audiences watching it. I also noticed that there was a very strong lack of women being represented in this film which again effects audience viewing as female audiences may struggle to align with male characters.
To conclude The Shawshank Redemption was pleasantly unexpected and worthy of the outstanding reviews given by critics.
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It's been a while since I've last seen Shawshank Redemption, but it is one of those films that stay with you! The ending is one of the best ending's in film history. When you take the rest of the film into account, what do you think happened in the end?