Film Review: T2 Trainspotting

FINALLY SEEN T2! Boyle has done it again, my love affair with this film this begun. I can't deny that it isn't as good as the original, but I never expected it to be.

T2 is a follow up to Trainspotting; released in 1996, Trainspotting follows Mark Renton, who's immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene. We go with Mark as he tries to clean up and get out, even with the appeal of drugs (mainly heroin) and the influence of his friends. T2 brings us back to Edinburgh twenty years later, much has changed but just as much has remained the same. Mark returns to the only place he truly knows as home, his friends are all waiting; Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie. Mark seems to be a different man, he's outgrown his habits and matured; it doesn't take him long to get back into step and emotions begin to arise.

First of all, I have to mention the narrative. When looking back and considering it, the story isn't that great. That's not what takes over the audience, it's the themes of lifetime achievement and losing friends. All the boys are in their late fifties and have achieved nothing, Renton comes home because he's divorcing his wife and has no faith in his job. Even though the lie Renton tells about his family may not seem so significant, I feel that it really is; he wants Sick Boy to believe that he's got something to be proud of, something that even if all else fails he can look at and think I've got this. It's heartbreaking that Renton is now alone, what's also upsetting is the loss of his mother. Maybe he didn't come back because he was scared of the boys reaction or maybe because he couldn't face the empty void his mother left.

T2 is and isn't nostalgic. Of course, there's no doubt that nothing could have beaten the original Trainspotting because it's unique and strange yet totally endearing. We see our favourite characters again, A number of places we go with Renton in the film made me so emotional- to see how things hadn't quite changed but seemed so derelict. Flashbacks are quite prominent in this film, they go from back twenty years to when Renton was a child, they added something to the film and in a sense they reminded me of the flashbacks we see in Boyle's Slumdog Millionare. Personally, I feel the flashbacks are there to make audiences see that no matter how far apart the boys drift they'll always have a massive connection, they're like brothers not friends.

What's genius about T2 is that all the boys aren't keen on seeing each other and if anything they wish that Renton hasn't come back. Memories and nostalgia overcomes all their feelings of hate towards Mark and brings them back together again. Character wise, I'd say Spud is exactly the same. I find him cute and he's still as dim witted as twenty years ago, still an addict but the father of a teenage son. Sick Boy, well he's kind of grown up but is dealing in some risky business and also still addict- to cocaine this time round. Begbie is absolutely crazy, even more crazy now than any other time; I felt by the end of the film Begbie was going to be the one to grow the most but that's just a delusion and he gets more insane. Although, normally I do enjoy watching characters in a narrative evolve over the course of the film, I didn't mind so much in T2. Rather than changing they're reverting back, back to when they were young and relatively care free but learning to contain this attitude and make it suitable for their adult lives.

More than this, the characters are where the allure stems from. Spuds innocence, Begbie's bawdiness, Sick Boy's boyish quality and Renton's every-man type. Along with them we discover their reignited friendship, at heart they'll always be those twenty something, addicts. That's why we love them.

As a whole the mise en scene is spot on, Edinburgh is of course the main setting. We see the Castle, the tram line which definitely wasn't there twenty years ago and some of the same old spots from back in 1996.  Once again the boys leave Edinburgh and catch the train to Rannoch Moor, I want to go to this place a lot! It's so beautiful and I can imagine it to be breathtaking in real life, of course in the original Renton labels it 'shit'. Two of the main places we return to (and they're main because they're my favourite) are Prince Street, the opening running scene of Trainspotting, and Calton Street Bridge, when Renton runs into a car. The costumes are basic and what they need to be, all the boys have gotten a little smarter.

I'm not really going to talk about the ending because it's so easy to give it all away. Let's just say Begbie still holds a massive grudge. It's such a clever ending, the outcome is unexpected but I suppose you can get a little inkling right before everything is revealed.

I could go on about this film all day, the only criticism I have is that it wasn't as social realist as the first. I don't know what it was, I just did't get the same feeling. Overall, it lived up to expectation besides that one little blip. A must see if you loved Trainspotting!

        

Film Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Possibly the most shocking film I've watched, purely because I never expected anything so cruel. Rogue One was unreal, when I revealed to Matt that I really did enjoy it and Force Awakens he asked me why I didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. I honestly don't know why, I do love the sci-fi genre but I'm more a fantasy fan myself; Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments etc etc. Yes, I can't really give an efficient opinion because I've never watched any of the original films but after watching I actually don't feel it was necessary for me too.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a prequel to previous episodes. All looks lost when the Rebellion learns of a new super weapon, The Death Star. With the help of misguided Jyn Erso, who's father Galen plays a huge part in the creation, they find a possible weakness in it's construction. The Rebel Alliance set out on a desperate mission to save the plans, the future of the galaxy depends upon it's success.

First let's talk about casting, I can honestly say I didn't go and see this film because Felicity Jones was in it. I'm not a big fan of hers (most likely because she threatened to kill Robert Langdon in Inferno) but I really enjoyed her in this film; saying this, I don't know whether I liked her or Jyn more. Let's talk about Diego Luna, Rogue One is one of the first films I've watched where you can clearly identify an actors thick, native accent, Luna is Mexican and talks about not changing his accent for a role. As a main character, I feel, that his role was so important because it shows people that other ethnicities are represented properly. GO DIEGO LUNA! Both Forest Whitaker and Mads Mikkelsen scare me a little bit, Mikkelsen purely because of Hannibal and Whitaker just because he plays out there characters- this takes nothing away from their brilliant yet short lived performances. It doesn't matter if you like the casting anyway because everyone dies, you won't be seeing them again! Also, Donnie Yen, who plays Chirrut, has been introduced to Western audiences; don't get me wrong he's successful in his own right but the majority of Western audiences haven't really heard of him. Could Rogue One mark the increase of Chinese cinema in the West? Who knows.

You can't talk about Rogue One without mentioning the insane effects in this film. Okay, maybe not ground breaking but it was still a shock to me, I didn't realise that the original Tarkin sadly isn't with us anymore. When someone told me it wasn't actually him, I was like what, no. Guy Henry (Holby City) now plays Tarkin with a super imposed image of Peter Cushing's face. Also, the end scene with Leia. Emotional or what?! The fact that this film was made and released before Carrie Fisher passed away is something else. We never expected to lose her so soon and although I wasn't a big Star Wars fan, it doesn't take away from the fact we lost a treasure. If this wasn't enough, some of the scenes from the film where actually filmed over twenty years ago, I didn't even know this but I'm sure Star Wars fans did, honestly the film was amazing but the special effects are mind blowing.

As I've said I thought the loss of life in Rogue One was atrocious. However, I love it! In terms of the narrative and the future of the storyline, the death of literally everyone makes complete sense. Jyn, Cassian, K-2SO, they've all served their purpose. They retrieved the plan for the Deathstar and made it possible for Darth Vader to be beaten, the characters would be kept to give the audience a happy ending. The reality is, it's a film based around war and death not love and happy endings.

I have to give a little mention to the score. I'm pretty sure I'm right when I say that Rogue One is the first film where John Williams (Indianna Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park) has not composed the compilation. A lot of people ignore the whole music side of films, unless it's a soundtrack with sing along songs and stars singing. What we should all take into account that if melodies were absent from films, certain scenes especially wouldn't have as much depth or emotion. Myself, I'm a big fan of Hans Zimmer's work but had never thought of listening to Williams (besides when watching the films); saying this, listening to his compilations bring all the feels. It's something about the way he composes, he has a gift that enables us to be transported to another place with another emotion. The music for Rogue One was composed by Michael Giacchino, less well known but has a stand out track record. Ratatouille, Inside Out, Up, Jurassic World, Star Trek Beyond, Zootopia and Dr Strange- these are only a few of the he's known for. Personally, I adore his work for Rogue One and some of the films he's composed are my favourites!

Rogue One has introduced me to the world of Star Wars. If you haven't any Star Wars (like me), Rogue One is a great way to ease you into it, although I say ease with caution because this film is in no way lighthearted!

Film Review: Lalaland

Welcome to my first post for Scribbles in 2017! Let's talk about arguably the most successful film of 2016, Lalaland. Released on Friday for us and in December for the US, Lalaland has received 182 nominations, 127 wins and this includes Best Actor and Actress Golden Globes. With a budget of between $20-30 million dollars, after just under a month, Lalaland has made almost $130,000,000. I adore this film, it's an absolute masterpiece! It has mixed reviews but now I'm going to tell you why I am so besotted.

What's Lalaland about? Sebastian, played by Ryan Gosling, is a jazz pianist who scrapes a living by playing at cocktail parties. Mia, played by Emma Stone, is an aspiring actress that serves lattes to film stars in-between auditions. They keep bumping into each other and as they begin their love affair success dwells for both, important decisions threaten their flimsy relationship and could rip them apart.

One factor that is most important about the success of Lalaland, in my opinion, is that it doesn't try too hard to be a musical. What I mean by this is that the musical numbers don't occur for no reason, for example we're eating lunch so we're going to sing about eating lunch; both the lyrical and dance numbers come at points in the story when it's necessary to create atmosphere or emotion. The Griffith Park Observatory scene for instance, Mia and Sebastian go on a date and the melody begins to play, they then begin to dance around the observatory and in the planetarium. It stands out because it's gentle and it's exciting and it sort of makes you feel like you're right there with them, it's just enough to make us feel rather magical. In fact, the soundtrack is my whole life, I feel like a Hollywood, Disney Princess when I listen to certain songs. Even if you don't want to see the film just listen to that soundtrack; I feel like it's so different (in reality it's probably not) personally I've never listened to anything like it- I don't listen to Jazz inspired music though.

As for star appeal, the only 'big' stars in the film are Stone, Gosling and J.K Simmons (Whiplash, Spiderman). Music wise, you have John Legend who plays Keith, an old acquaintance of Sebastian's; I have to be honest his acting wasn't top notch but he's not an actor so you can't expect anything- the music was of course phenomenal. I also feel that Legend's character brings up one of the prominent issues of not only the film itself but our culture nowadays. Sebastian is a traditionalist in terms of Jazz, the way it should sound etc and Keith says 'How are you gonna be a revolutionary if you're such a traditionalist? You hold onto the past, but jazz is about the future.' I honestly believe that this is one of the key focal points of this film, the film itself is a new, modern take on the original 50s musicals! It's about taking what you have and recycling, not forgetting about the influence and where it came from. In our modern society, we want everything to be new and shiny, I feel like a majority of people don't appreciate past work- if we didn't have Hitchcock we wouldn't have certain film directors, actors or films in general. Myself, I feel like this film is a starting point in a new age of musicals, I hope so anyway because it's brilliant.

In terms of Gosling and Stone, fantastic. Before watching this, I'd never really watched a Gosling film that intrigued me, I've never watched The Notebook simply because it doesn't appeal to me. I need to watch Drive and let me just say The Big Short is immense, I'd never been so interested in the world of high finance. Stone, it really goes without saying, she's flawless and no one trick pony. Vocals from both fit like a jigsaw piece and together are heaven, all the piano playing we see is by Gosling himself who is also in a band (Dead Mans Bone). Everything about the original soundtrack is so rich, unique  and uplifting... just everything.

One of the main differences from past Hollywood musicals is that this actually makes some sort of sense, I've talked about this with some people and we always bring up Singin' in the Rain, which is about a silent film production company making the transition to sound and Gene Kelly ends up singing in the rain. What? There's an actual narrative to Lalaland, if you take away the musical numbers you'd still have a film that makes sense and goes somewhere. It's what the director wanted, a modern, original musical.

Finally, the mise en scene in Lalaland is spot on. It's classy, aesthetically pleasing and just gorgeous. The costume designers favourite outfit of Mia's is actually the white dress near the end of the film, again it's rather Marilyn and very old Hollywood. One of the end scenes, which I won't reveal, is one of my absolute favourite scenes ever. It uses colour, music and set design so perfectly, the sequence, in context, is fun but completely devastating at the same time. The dance sequence is unreal, I only wish I could be in such an extraordinary position to do something like Lalaland as a job.

I'd highly recommend going to see Lalaland whether you like musicals or not. It's comic, it romantic and it's dramatic; it's not one genre, it's a mixture of a lot of things. I feel Lalaland brings a bit of everything to the table, some old Hollywood and a lot of new. A lot of the time we see pretty much the same films released all the time now, that's why it's so nice to see a film being regarded so highly for being so different. This film will go down in history, it's swept the Golden Globes and is set to with the Bafta's and the Oscars. Moreover, I feel as though it'll be remembered for bringing back societies adoration of music and musicals. It hasn't even been out for a month and rumours are already spreading about a Broadway musical, which will of course be an absolute sell out if produced correctly. This is slightly bias, I am totally head over the heels with everything to do with this film. However, I honestly wouldn't recommend it if I thought you'd be wasting your money, who knows Lalaland could turn you into a die hard musical fan. You'll have to watch to find out, Emma Stone did say 'this is a film for dreamers'. 

Blade Runner

Most people hear the name Harrison Ford and think of Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Arguably two of the biggest franchises ever made. Some of Ford's other work is kind of over shadowed by them but they changed his life and I'm sure he doesn't mind. I have a couple of  favourites- The Fugitive, Witness, Clear and Present Danger or The Mosquito Coast; all amazing films!

Nick chose Blade Runner this week for film club. This choice may have been influenced by the new Sky Atlantic drama Westworld which I have still got to begin. If you're one of Matt's students you'll know he says this is his favourite film, to my surprise I quite enjoyed it! To be quite honest, I didn't think I'd get it and even though there are still bits I'm not quite sure about.

Blade Runner is a sci-fi film set in 2019, here's a little overview for you.  Los Angles has turned into a dark and rather depressing metropolis, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is an ex-cop known as a 'Blade Runner'. He's assigned to assassinate four 'replicants', the replicants are robots that act and look like human beings. When the four replicants commit mutiny on the Off World colony Deckard is called out to retire them, as he hunts and kills them one by one he comes across Rachel, another replicant. Rachel expresses human emotions even though she's a replicant herself. As Rick Deckard comes closer to the leader of the four replicants his hatred for the artificial intelligence forces him to question his own identity and what's human and what's not.

Blade Runner itself is a science fiction crime drama in a sense, it most definitely has influences of film noir as it contains and explores conventions such as the femme fatale. It delves into future implications of technology on the environment, there's a tension between the past and present which is high tech in places but decrepit and decayed in some.

First of all, the whole Rachel Deckard romance. It's a conflict that can be seen effecting both individually, poor Rachel who doesn't know she's a replicant is already confused enough without the impending romance. A scene that portrays this conflict well is when they admit to themselves their feelings for each other; it's not verbal you can just see the sexual tension, Rachel isn't too sure at first and we don't really know why. After this, we don't see Rachel until the end of the film- I'm not going to talk about it but I don't get it.

Moving on to the replicants who are all creeps besides Rachel. Especially Pris and Roy Batty, what type of crazy are they, it was the fighting skills that got me. When Pris tried to attack Deckard she literally tried to strangle him/break his neck with her legs, she should be a gymnast. Batty just scared me, also in the final scene why was he walking around in swimming trunks. A question that will never be answered. Zhora was the replicant that confused me the most about the whole replicant situation, obviously she was the first to be assassinated and an exotic dancer (not the point). Me being me assumed that when replicants died you'd see metal cogs and robot organs not blood and guts. In all, still not getting the whole replicant situation.

I love Harrison Ford, I do. In fact, I enjoy watching the majority of his films, along with Blade Runner. However, I didn't like his character in moments of this film and I'm sure that's what Ridley Scott intended. I just thought he was a bit of an idiot, the whole Rachel 'I want you' situation got a bit full on didn't it. He seemed to be two things a drinker and a misery. That's what 2019 Los Angeles will do for you I guess! My heart went out to him when Batty broke his fingers though, wow. Truthfully, I feel like he did really love Rachel (the love aspect came around quick like) and I'd want to know whether they escaped and had replicant children and watched them as they grew old together, alas that's not the way film works.

Overall, I'd watch Blade Runner again just to see if I could understand it more. It's a great film, so much to consider and messages that we should be thinking about- like the consequences of developing technology. In a nut shell it's a weird film in terms of what goes on etc but it's worth a watch.

The Big Sleep

Here I am back again, let's get straight into this! Nick chose The Big Sleep this week, a black and white film that was released in 1946. Now, I've never really watched black and white films (unless you count the first fifteen minutes of The Wizard of Oz) but I've always wanted to have a watch. The Big Sleep stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, on screen their chemistry is obvious. It's amusing, their characters don't seem to be that fond of each other it looks very hot and cold, for me sometimes a little awkward- it's all just flirting. They were lovers for a number of years I believe, never married just partners- they did star in various other films together such as; To Have and Have Not (1944), Dark Passage (1947), Key Largo (1948).

Moving on, so The Big Sleep was directed by Howard Hawks who's directed a number of classic films- go take a look on IMDB you'll find out. He was a film maker who's true quality was appreciated more or less after his work, over his forty year career he was only nominated for an oscar once. In his time he was a great man of his trade (arguably is still remembered as a legend) who could churn out commercially pleasing pictures. After reading about Hawks and his works, it seems to me he wasn't trying playing a game or attempting to change it up, he said himself that when you find a thing that works there's no need to change it. 

The film is multi genre- crime, mystery, thriller, film noir. Film noir is a style of cinematographic film that is marked by a specific mood. The term is derived from a group of French film critics, I think it's quite a cool name. I did French in school and I think that it translates as film black or black film. It sounds you'd be watching a bunch of seedy, dark, depressing film which they're not. 

Let's move to the focus of the post, The Big Sleep. Our storyline is led by Private Detective Philip Marlowe (any of you lit fans out their- Christopher Marlowe- Faustus),played by Bogart, is hired by a rich General to help sort out the problems caused by his youngest daughter Carmen. Marlowe is stopped before he leaves by the General's elder daughter Vivian who suspects that everything's not as it seems. Marlowe doesn't reveal anything, from this he goes on to try to investigate to shed light on the case. From this point on the situation becomes increasingly dangerous and confusing. Marlowe finds not only the killer, love too.

After we finished The Big Sleep, I realised I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll be honest that surprised me. I struggle to really focus on things, I'm the girl who's watched the first season of Game of Thrones at least five time, my sister doesn't think I can watch Poldark because I can't concentrate. My fear was that because it was in black and white I'd lose interest, yes I take film studies but sometimes things just aren't your cup of tea. What struck me about the film was probably the relationship between Vivian and Marlowe as well as the whole murder element. Their undeniable chemistry catches you off guard, I found this because it was on and off like a light switch, from their first scene together anyone could tell there'd be a connection. It was hot and cold, at one point I thought Vivian was on the dark side.

Bacall really intrigued me as an actress, I'd never heard of her before watching the film. There's something about her and the way she acts that sticks out. Her voice, so rich and elegant. The way she walks, talks, dresses and styles her hair screams to me classic film star. Humphrey Bogart, I'd heard of. His characters lack of emotion amused me, when I say this I don't think he walked round with a face stiff as cardboard for what 90 minutes. He just doesn't show everything he feels on his face, which I like- it provides a sense of mystery and constantly leaves the audience wondering what's going on in his mind.

Carmen was the character I hated most, what a child. She kills someone for not paying her enough attention, like come on girl get a grip. I like people to listen to me but I don't push them off the college balcony or shoot them. Be a strong, independent woman, FEMALE POWER. Besides Vivian, women come off a bit well I'm gonna say needy in this film. Take that book shop lady at the beginning, shutting the blinds and getting ready to pounce on Marlowe, then we have Carmen who I shall not talk anymore about.

The black and white makes this film more simplistic and more complex. What I mean is, it doesn't rely on CGI or lots of hi-tech stuff, just the essentials. The complex comes from the fact that, they have to convey a story and for people now (not so much back in the day) who aren't used to no colour it's boring or harder to watch. As well as the fact everything back then was much more tender, you get me. No sex on the screen etc etc. Not that you need that for a great film, on pages okay but not for the camera. The chemistry has to be conveyed and stay PG, I think the directors have an easier job today- no offence.

Overall, The Big Sleep- well it's opened my eyes. Encouraged me to  attempt to broaden my horizons to watch all those classics everyone talks about. Be in the know, maybe even have a gander at world cinema. Definitely watching more Bogart and Bacall! Well that's it for the week friends, you'll here from me soon.

The Shawshank Redemption

Film Studies student Beckie Lees gives her take on the 1994 classic...

In film club for our Wednesday afternoon 'experiences' we watched Shawshank Redemption over a period of two weeks.  Just before I begin I'm just gonna put it out there, this is not an analysis of the film- meaning no shot types, nothing about mise en scene etc. Only my thoughts. Now even though Shawshank is known as a classic film I've never watched it, I don't really know why.

Here's a bit of background, when Shawshank was released it wasn't overly popular it was just another film, but suddenly it became widely popular. It's number one on IMDB's 'Top Rated Movies' list with Godfather (which I've also never watched) coming second. It was directed by Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Majestic) and was based on Stephen King's novel 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption', released in 1994.

The narrative is quite simple really, Red (Morgan Freeman) and Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) bond over the years they are imprisoned, finding comfort and even redemption through acts of kindness and I would say friendship too. Throughout the film Red recounts their story as it goes along.

Andy Dufresne was accused of murdering his wife and her lover in a drunken rage, the opening of Shawshank lets the audience know this through a replay of events as Andy stands trial. I won't lie I was convinced that he killed them both, during the trial I found Andy to have no genuine sense of guilt or remorse, which doesn't allow audiences to identify with the character! Thankfully, I was proved wrong later in the film. So long story short- Andy is found guilty and given a two life sentences in Shawshank prison. Throughout he beginning of his sentences he found it incredibly hard to settle,  what I found surprising is that I had a lot of empathy even though a lot I haven't been in Andy's situation; equally I've been in an uncomfortable situation before,like we all have, we feel as though we don't fit in.

What I did find fascinating was the fact that Red and all his friends found the entrance of new prisoners almost like a horse race really, betting on who would break first. Now even though I don't know what goes on within prison walls, you could definitely picture this happening; I mean for prisoners who've been in there for most of their lives and see people come in and out all the time it would be expected.

One element of the film that did shock me was the violence towards the prisoners,  of course it was unnecessary, of course it has gone on (I'd like to say has because I hope it doesn't now) but I just didn't expect such harsh beatings. Also, what is the pit. Why? If you didn't think having a life sentence is enough just behave badly and they'll stick you in a dingy, dark hole for however long you deserve to be in there.

Let's move on to one of my favourite characters Brooks. Oh my goodness, he tugged at my heart strings. I love old people, so for me Brooks was the cutest thing ever. He get's more brownie points as he looks after the books, as a book lover myself I'm all for it. If it had't been for Brooks our Andy would never have escaped laundry (which we'll move onto in a moment). Brooks helping the bird just echoed what happened in Shawshank, I think the board expects the prisoners to be rehabilitated whereas actually they mature and grow. The majority arrived when they were young and stupid, never having the opportunity to have a family or career. Just like Red said, if he could he'd go back, talk to his younger self and not make the mistakes he did. Anyway, Brooks, oh how it broke my heart when he died; on the outside we don't view prison as a home but Brooks death just reinforces the concept that maybe it is. In a dysfunctional sort of way, those who have been there for a long period of time don't know how to cope in the outside world; without friends or the routine.

If I didn't mention this, Andy is a banker. In the scene when Andy and the gang are on the roof, when he hears Heywood talking about his money problems and from that point on Andy basically becomes Shawshank's personal banker, money advisor etc. Eventually things get out of hand as the Warden asks Andy to help with his money laundering scheme, the whole idea is quite bizarre but it works in terms of storyline and plot.

I think one of the stand out features of Shawshank is no doubt Andy's escape. You just don't expect it at all, we all remember that Andy asked Red to get him that mini pick axe thing to do whatever he felt like doing. At the back of my mind, I did have my suspicions about the escape plan but I honestly couldn't figure out where Andy had gotten to. Then of course the posters, oh those pretty posters to keep Andy feel a tad more normal, hid his little secret. That escape route was horrendous, hands down would never be doing that, no way. Then of course the audience just want Red to finally be approved.

My favourite aspect of the film was Andy and Red's growing friendship, to think how far they'd come since Andy arrived. When Red was released it was a bit emotional, being put in the same room where Brooks died and working the same job. The oak tree was incredibly moving, Andy obviously wanted Red to come and create a life with him in sunny Mexico. That friendship is so strong it honestly hurts my heart, a friendship that developed in a time of struggle, need and the search for companionship.

Personally, I loved Shawshank Redemption, I think it's an inspiring story that makes us contemplate the things we have. It contains themes of friendship, hope, injustice, secrets, transformation and many more. Andy sticks to his innocence throughout and then finally we have reason to believe he's not a cold blooded killer, he stands his ground and never wavers. I can now understand why Shawshank is classed as a modern classic, Shawshank is one of the most thematically rich films I've ever seen. It tells us if we try hard enough we can go a long way if we don't let anyone define us. 22 years on the strengths of the film is conveyed through it's popularity to this day. If you've got an 144 minutes to spare, I recommend a watch.