The Shawshank Redemption - An Analysis

The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies and even though there are so many reasons to admire the storytelling and characterizations of this movie, I can tell you the number one reason it resonated with me as an audience member: the sense of supreme emotional satisfaction I felt when Andy escaped and then, when Red joins him at film's end. Why is that? What made the ending of this movie feel so right? I think it's because all the major elements of screenplay storytelling were right there, on their marks - character definition (interestingly, Andy seemed to be a bit on the mysterious side), plotting, pace, theme, setting, conflict... it all gelled and cooked up a perfect movie. When the payoff came, the screenwriter had meticulously done his homework, planting the seeds of emotional satisfaction along the way and then he paid off. Bigtime. I became emotionally invested in the characters of this story and needed to know how it all turned out. The Scriptologist Website has an analysis of The Shawshank Redemption that you may find interesting if you, too, enjoyed the movie. Here is a snippet: In Frank Darabont's screenplay for the film, "The Shawshank Redemption," Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), the protagonist, learns that only by freeing his soul from the self-torment of guilt over his wife's death can he free himself from the spatial and temporal exile of the Shawshank Prison.