One of the many world renowned authors, Stephen King has transformed many of his great novels into magnificent films. Some include: Carrie, The Shining, IT, Stand by Me, and many others. One of his best films, The Shawshank Redemption, is truly a story which demonstrates a very important lesson, that “Fear can hold you prisoner and hope can set you free”. In the film, a banker by the name of Andy Dufresne is accused of a double murder and is sentenced till rehabilitation at the Shawshank jail. From the moment Dufresne arrived, he had hope that he would one day be released, so, he slowly dug a hole through his cell wall to escape, hiding a tool he secretly received, in a bible and the hole in the wall with a poster. Dufresne slowly gained the trust of the inmates and guards, therefore, wasn’t under much suspicion of attempting a break out. About twenty years later, the hole was finally dug and Dufresne escaped from prison. He crawled through the wall and the five hundred yards of gruesome jail sewage, through the sewage pipe, to get to his freedom.

One of Dufresne’s close inmate friends, Red (played by Morgan Freemen) , was also accused of murder and was sentenced for life at the prison. Fortunately, after Red and Dufresne met, he got a sense of hope. Before, Red was miserable and didn’t know when he was going to get out of prison. Every time he requested a parole, the Warden denied. Luckily, he finally got released a few years after Dufresne escaped.

Unfortunately, many others did not have hope. Another inmate named Brooks Halten got released after stranded in jail for fifty years. By the time he got out of jail, he was seventy two and the world was much different to him after being isolated from society for so long. Everything seemed too fast paced and the world was overwhelming for him . Brooks didn’t know what to do. Thinking about committing a crime (murder), Brooks figures he is too old to do that. Sadly, Brooks committed suicide due to all of the anxiety and stress.

The Shawshank Redemption is a movie that really makes you think and reflect on your own life. It makes you not only question  others , but also makes you question yourself. But, at the same time, the movie is filled with suspense and realization. Some scenes in the movie also surprised me and were very clever. If you're into movies with meaning, suspense, thrills and gore, I definitely recommend this movie.