I finally watched The Shawshank Redemption and it’s not at all what I expected (contains spoilers)

I finally watched The Shawshank Redemption after someone recommended it to me as a “movie about hope.” So I went in expecting something gentle and uplifting. I only knew it was number one on IMDb and had something to do with a prison. But that whole “gentle movie” idea went straight out the window basically right after the court scene.

There will be spoilers from here on out: SPOILERS ALERT!

So the first prison sequence really threw me. A guy asks, “When do we eat?” and the guard says “You eat when we say you eat. You piss when we say you piss, and you shit when we say you shit,” and then hits him hard.

And that’s just the beginning. Later that night, another prisoner gets beaten to death just for panicking and yelling for help.

Movie doens' get easier. More violence and repeated rapes follow.

Soon after when I saw level of sadism from the guards and the warden had me thinking the whole “hope” theme was going to be tiny little moments of Andy learning to survive by allying with these people (the rooftop scene was the first hint). I figured that was the message.

Then stuff started happening that didn’t quite line up with that idea, like how this super tightly controlled prison somehow allowed a full library, music etc., and these moments of strange freedom. Still, I was like okay this could makes sense.

But then the ending came, nd the whole miraculous escape completely floored me. It almost felt like a dream sequence… almost like a fairy tale. The coincidences stacking up so neatly and dramaticaly that a part of me was like COME ON! I mean I’m not someone who nitpicks plot holes, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how a prison that strict supposedly never checked behind a poster, or how a guy could dig a tunnel for almost 20 years without being caught, or how easily he moves around afterward when he is out.

But I guess that’s exactly why the movie resonates so much.

Because that’s what hope is at the heart of it, it's hope against all odds. Hope is basically useless when things make sense and you can logically expect things to go your way. it matters when everything doesn’t. Sometimes it’s the only thing left. Like when someone has a terminal illness with a 1% survival rate and ends up living decades, or when someone in poverty suddenly got a a brilliant business idea and actually becomes that one-in-a-million success story. It’s irrational, impossible… until it isn’t.

Looking at the movie from that angle, the fairy-tale aspects suddenly felt intentional and kind of essential. They give the movie that mythical, bigger-than-life feel that clearly so many people connect with.

Curious to hear what others thought of the movie.