Our lookbacks at the screen adaptations of Stephen King arrive at the hugely popular The Shawshank Redemption…
The film:Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is accused of murdering his wife and her lover.
There, he meets Red (Morgan Freeman) who narrates their story.
The major factor in this is the astonishing cast that Darabont assembled.
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It also helps that the film has an ageless quality to it.
Its subtitle is Hope Springs Eternal which would form the key theme of Andy Dufresnes story.
Thats where Darabont finds the horror in Kings non-genre story.
Outside is a world of automobiles and fast-paced living that hes unable to cope with.
Hes too old, his hands are too arthritic, and he simply doesnt understand how everything works anymore.
Its the thing that helps him tunnel through rock and crawl through 500 yards of sewer.
Its what he passes on to Red, who briefly looks as if hell give up too.
And I think thats whyThe Shawshank Redemptioncontinues to resonate so widely today.
A King thing:Shawshank Prison.
Join me next time, Constant Reader, for an encounter withThe Mangler.
