Kyle's+Film+Review

Shawshank Redemption: Acting: The acting throughout the film was thoroughly believable and captivating. With Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman leading the cast of talented actors, the film hardly needed its brilliant screenplay to sustain itself. Andy Dufresne’s eerie calm throughout the entirety of the film is well-portrayed by Robbins. James Whitmore also did an excellent job playing an old prisoner who knows nothing more than the outside world, and I was particularly impressed with his performance during a scene in which he breaks down entirely as his release date approaches and uncharacteristically attacks a fellow inmate. Script: Originally based on the short story, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” by Steven King, the story for this film is captivating from start to finish. The film begins with Andy Dufresne sitting in his car outside a house in which his wife and her lover are loudly getting it on. We see him get out of the car, clearly intoxicated, with a revolver in his hand, and the scene cuts to a court room where Dufresne is found guilty of murdering both of them. The rest of the movie follows Andy’s experiences in prison. This well-crafted screenplay does an excellent job showing how hope can bring about freedom in even the most unlikely situations. Music: The music in this film did not play a particularly pivotal role, nor did any tracks make a large impression on me. That being said, the score was nominated for an academy award, and the background music did an excellent job depicting the mood of the scene. In one memorable scene, Andy Dufresne finds a record of an Italian Opera and plays it over the Prisons P.A. system, later noting that, “They can never take away the music in your head.” Cinematography: One of the most outstanding aspects of this film was the cinematography. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, the film utilizes artful camera use to add to the film. During the scene in which Andy is first entering Shawshank Prison, a single shot is used to first show the bus entering the prison, then come over the prison gate to reveal the awaiting prisoners, and then showing the bus enter the prison from the other side. Many scenes utilize artful Cinematography and it adds to the film’s effectiveness. Editing: The editing in this film was effective. I found the movie fast-paced and it kept my attentediting in this film was effective. I found the movie fast-paced and I never felt as though any scene dragged on longer than it should have.