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| The Shawshank Redemption 5 of 10 |
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| Directed by Frank Darabont Cinematography by Roger Deakins Tim Robbins Morgan Freeman Bob Gunton William Sadler Clancy Brown James Whitmore Dion Anderson |
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| I have seen this film praised to the skies on nearly every movie website I have ever visited. So, I was definitely looking forward to seeing it. It was a major disappointment. Not because there wasn�t some fine stuff here�there certainly was. It was Frank Darabont�s directorial debut, and there is much about it worth praising. But there is one overwhelming weakness: it is far too long. The story up to and including the first ending was great. The next three or four endings really sapped my interest, though. And by the end, it feels like Darabont created and resolved storylines that were completely unnecessary. And that�s one of the worst feeling you can have when you get done with a movie. The cast was solid, although I must admit that I did not come away convinced that Tim Robbins is a great actor. (I might have to wait for Mystic River to think that.) Freeman, however, is very, very good as �Red� Redding, the tough yet wise convict who helps Tim Robbins survive the prison ordeal. All in all, there was a great movie in here. The problem is that there was nearly another movie here as well, and that one was nowhere near as great. Why can�t directors learn a little restraint? (One personally gratifying note: keep an eye our for the man described as "Head Bull" Haig. He is played by Dion Anderson, husband of the College's kitchen manager, and someone I actually know. Its very strange to see someone you know in a major studio production. But its also kind of neat.) �These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways.� |
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