A cheap and reactionary film. There is no "redemption" here, but "hope" (the hope of what?). What happens the next day, when parole officers catch up with Red? What happens to bringing the real culprit of Andy's wife behind the bar? Where is the PTSD of an "institutional man?" There is no deep critique of prison economy here, nor that of America's CJS (all we have is a few corrupt officials outsmarted by a banker who of course ran away w all the money and is praised for it, sounds familiar?). The completely implausible "figaro" sequence cheapens the real struggle for freedom. All of this is the stuff of cheap Hollywood.
All the cries are the truly hardest part to play, and Brosnan did it. The 2nd actor behaved the best crying scene as I thought. And the first was Zhouxun in The equation of love and earth. 1 star minor 'cause of the ending was too sudden, the emotion changing issue. Hash I am.