10 Movies That Didn't Know When To End

9. The Shawshank Redemption

There's no denying that The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most inspirational movies ever made, telling the tale of a wrongly-accused man, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) as he attempts to survive and eventually escape from prison.

This is all well and good right up to the moment (pictured above) when Andy manages to tunnel out of his cell and escape through the prison's sewer system; it's a triumphant and jubilant climax that proves the cathartic peak of the story. There's one very perfect moment on which the film should close, when Andy's buddy Red (Morgan Freeman) gets parole, visits Buxton and finds a letter asking him to visit Zihuatanejo.

It's hopeful but ambiguous enough that we don't know for sure if Red ever sees Andy again. Instead, Frank Darabont can't quite resist going a little too far and indulging our sentiments too much; we get to see the emotional reunion between Andy and Red, and though it is a nice moment, it feels like overkill in a film that could've been far more subtle with its ending.

Still, the rest of the film is so excellent that it's easily forgiven, though the beefy 142-minute runtime would've lost a good five minutes as a result.