The Shawshank Redemption is reasonably well written, directed, acted, and filmed. Yet in my judgment it is a below-average movie. It lacks a real plot, and, while the title promises redemption, nobody and nothing is redeemed. The characters lack depth, and many events are implausible.

No doubt, wardens and prison guards can be wicked people. But those portrayed in this film are so completely perverse that they become uninteresting. Their function is to represent "the establishment" and "authority." The audience is meant to identify with Andy Dufresne, the main character. While innocent of the murders of which he is convicted, he's hardly an admirable character, and he becomes worse during his imprisonment. He's a clever manipulator who eagerly cooperates in the warden's criminal activities in the hope of profiting from doing so--which he eventually does. The prison also has has a contingent of homosexual rapists, who are called "not human" so as to avoid admitting that their behavior is all too human, and very much in need of redemption.

Thus, the film's popularity: it appeals to our tendency to rationalize our own wickedness by comparing ourselves with moral monsters. Unfortunately, serving that function does not make a mediocre film great any more than serving sound moralism does.