Of course, in a movie as well-crafted asShawshank, they all work.
Together, they make this prison complex feel as real and absorbing as any other setting.
In any case, we don’t have to love a character to enjoy watching them onscreen.
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With that in mind,this list will rank the best characters inThe Shawshank Redemption.
They jeer from behind a gate, which isn’t the warmest kind of welcome.
Heywood speaks to him through the bars to make him break, a tactic that proves all too successful.
When this guy screams, “I don’t belong here!”
in the middle of the night, the cellblock erupts in celebration and chants, “Fresh fish!”
It gets so loud that Hadley and a few other guards arrive.
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Even Heywood wants him to shut up at this point, but he doesn’t.
He’s then taken out of his cell and beaten to death.
The following morning, Andy asks what his name is.
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No one knows, whichmakes his death all the more harrowing and representative of this prison’s cruelty.
The audience can sense that Wiley was rooting for Mr. Dufresne’s project all along.
He and his buddies are known as The Sisters, known for sexually assaulting other inmates.
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That winds up being an accurate description, as Bogs goes on to rape Andy routinely.
As awful as this man is,Bogs is pretty integral to the movie’s realism and grit.
7Heywood
William Sadler
Played byWilliam Sadler, Heywood is part of Red’s gang.
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The audience can see him being a friend to the main characters through all that time.
On the other hand, he’s not all fun and games.
He did this all for cigarettes, which he’s happy to get the following morning.
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When Andy asks what his name is, Heywood gets a bit aggressive and says it doesn’t matter.
Out of all of Red’s close friends,Heywood is the most complex.
He’s young, he’s got sideburns, and his cocky attitude earns him favor with the gang.
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Andy helps him out, making for what feels at first like an inspiring side plot.
However, he soon becomes a much more serious character.
He allows the audience to see that Andy is innocent but alsopropelsthis dark and touching dramaforward.
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He swears at the inmates, unrelentingly beats them, and shows no remorse.
Like many great characters, though, Hadley has another side to him.
As Red says, “The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous.”
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Overall, Hadley isbothessential to the movie’s tone and Andy’s character arc.
As he says, “Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me.”
That’s a hell of an introduction to the character, and he only gets better from there.
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Religious fervor doesn’t stop Norton from being corrupt, though.
It certainly doesn’t stop him from condoning and even ordering Hadley to beat and kill prisoners.
The way he turns his head reminds one of the mafia leaders from other great movies.
As his relationship with Andy develops,this villain becomes more and more reprehensible.
3Brooks Hatlen
James Whitmore
Brooks has been in Shawshank prison longer than anybody.
By the time Andy arrives, Brooks is in charge of the library.
He pushes a cart of books around for people to take if they hey.
Having lived behind bars for so long,Brooks is what Red calls “institutionalized.
When he says he didn’t do it, he sounds like all the other inmates.
As the story goes on, Andy comes across as a man who’s hard to read.
Along with how he outsmarts everybody, this protagonistmoves and surprises viewers at every turn.
Simply put,The Shawshank Redemptionwouldn’t be the same without him.
NEXT:‘10 Best Movies About Friendship, Ranked’
