In the feature film The Shawshank Redemption, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)—a young, successful banker who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife in 1947 and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms at Shawshank Prison. Andy endures confinement year after year while maintaining hope for freedom.
Red is a hardened but somewhat repentant convict resigned to spending the rest of his natural life behind the gray prison walls. When Red first sees Andy arrive at Shawshank, he takes an immediate disliking to the tall, slender banker. According to Red, Andy looked weak, "like a stiff breeze would blow him over." In fact, Red gambled that Andy would be the first of the new prisoners to break down. Surprisingly, Andy survives his first tormented night at Shawshank with his sanity intact, and not long after, he meets Red in the prison yard for the first time.
As Andy strolls away from his conversation with Red, he stoops to collect a pebble from the dusty prison grounds; the bright sunlight seems to transform his drab prison uniform into casual wear. Red reflects in a voiceover:
I can see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him: a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled like a man in the park, without a care or a worry in the world. Like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place.
There is a way we can live like Andy Dufresne—an innocent man placed in difficult circumstances, shielded by a mysterious peace. God can be our peace, our invisible coat, shielding us from trouble.
Elapsed Time: Measured from the beginning of the opening credit, the first scene begins at 0:11:45 and ends at 0:12:00, and the second scene begins at 0:28:16 and ends at 0:28:46.
Content: The Shawshank Redemption is rated R for profanity and violence.
