Review of The Shawshank Redemption (1994) by Brett C — 22 Sep 2015

In school, everybody was forced to study a certain art form, whether it would be music, film or a play. For me, that thing was The Shawshank Redemption. During that time, I never really liked the film, or gave it any of my attention as, at the time, it was heavily forced on us, and I tend to not enjoy something that was treated as a compulsion. As I got older, mature and more aware, I saw this film in a new light. I watched this film on my own time and on my own terms, and it gave me a more positive experience. It was during this that I realised how much this film had to offer, and it made me kind of regret on not paying attention in school.

The film was based off a Stephen King novel entitled "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", and it was adapted to the screen by Frank Darabont. I have not read King's novel, so I came into the film blind and not having any per-existing feeling towards the film. Darabont has written a film that explores the themes of hope, institutionalisation, corruption, and friendship. The main focus of the plot is the life of Andy Dufresne during his time in prison. Andy metaphorically is hope. He is a walking beacon of hope in the prison, and we can see his effect he had on his environment and the prisoners inhabiting within it. Andy is the closest thing to the life of the outside world, which is why people, especially Red, seem to cling on to him. Hope is a powerful agent, and this film demonstrates that perfectly, without hope, we start to find reasons to not live. The thing that made the character, Andy, really a great man and symbol is that he is described and narrated by the perspective of another man, which in this case is Red. If the film decided to be narrated by Andy, then it wouldn't work because naturally he himself wouldn't think that he was a symbol of hope to these prisoners, and if he did, then he would have just come off as egotistic and pretentious. The Shawshank Redemption, in a way, can also be seen as a friendship film, as that aspect of the film truly drives the film along. Seeing Andy and Red together, is so interesting and engaging as their relationship feels so organic and never at all forced. The film also explores the concept of institutionalisation, saying that it sucks out the life out of a person and that all individuality and perception of freedom is diminished from their system. It truly is a scary outcome, and something that nobody would ever want for themselves. The little short segment in the middle of the film on Brooks, could have easily been a misfire if it wasn't written very well. The character Brooks is the only figure in that prison that seems to be genuinely kind and loving, and to see what he has become in the real world is heartbreaking. It's also interesting to see that the guards themselves who are conventionally a symbol of good and virtue, is instead the most despicable of them all. The film looks at the Warden as the devil, someone who at first wouldn't look like one but ends up showing his true colors as the film goes on. The Warden is too clever to just reveal all at the start, he has to draw both Andy and the audience in before inflicting any damage. I found that theory to be quite interesting. The dialogue in the film was fun to listen to, not only because it contained well written lines but that it also has meaning to it. Every little thing that is being said kind of relate itself to the themes that floats throughout the film. It may be a bit down you throat for some people, especially if they want something more edgier, but I felt that it was a great way of showing the audience that this film is not just something that we can experience once and never revisit again. Darabont wants us to go back to Shawshank, because it felt good going through it and that it brings out something us that we never truly anticipated before.

The Shawshank Redemption is Frank Darabont's first feature film, not counting Buried Alive. What Darabont has created is a wonderful prison drama that gives us something more than what is offered on it's surface. Darabont is trying to tell us with The Shawshank Redemption, to not give up on hope, and the film succeeded on that as I have heard many stories of people being completely touched by this and that they made a complete change on their perspective of life. Darabont consistently kept this film to feel optimistic, regardless of the events that transpire during the middle passages of the film. But Darabont didn't let it's optimism keep this from a being a great drama. There are still moments of pitfalls for the film's characters and they are treated with enough seriousness that we end sympathising for the victims, but like I said, the film's atmosphere has kept this optimism to it which in a way let's the film feel much more accessible and easier to connect with. At first the film may feel quite long, but that just makes the experience of prison feel more real and I think that is very important in order to sell the agony of time that he had to endeavor. Darabont was able to truly capture the horrors of prison. The film was able to create this sense of claustrophobia on Andy, whether be the size of his cell or that he is neither safe with the people around him, whether they are guards or inmates. It's as if he can't get out. Darabont has kind of made the prison itself seem like a character and that is tough to do.

The film's cinematographer was Roger Deakins and I praise this man's work, not just for The Shawshank Redemption but also for other films like Skyfall and his work with the Coen brothers. What Deakins have made for The Shawshank Redemption is very impressive. Deakins and Darabont clearly wanted this film to be in the eyes or perspective of certain person looking back on his experience with this particular person, so therefore the film needed to feel more like a cinematic imagination or vision instead of keeping feeling grounded and organic. The film contains still shots that doesn't require major movements from the camera other than the occasional zoom into a character's face, and the film also contains wonderful tracking shots when the film does start to move along. The film also has these beautiful helicopter shots and brilliant composition of crane shots. Deakins understands that this film has significant depth, and that also Andy doesn't particularly talk in abundance, with silent moments showing introspection. The film's image is lifeless when shooting in the prison, to create this contrast on when we do get a glimpse of the outside world. When the film takes place in prison, Deakins has created this feeling of claustrophobia in his shots, in order to really feel the suffocation that our protagonist is agonizing from. As we get closer and closer to the end of the film, the claustrophobia starts to shed itself away, representing freedom.

The film's score was handled by Thomas Newman. His work for this film is beautiful, at times it was close in making me cry as Newman really knows how to hit those sentimental notes. In understanding with Darabont's direction, he has given this film an optimistic approach and only in rare occasions does it show any sort of melancholy in it's score. The score here may not be the most unique or experimental work he has created, and it may not even be his best score, but nevertheless his work here is one of the main reasons why the film's power is so strong. The score was able to give off both the feeling of friendship and the power of living. The highlight of the score is the scenes with Brooks living in the outside world, as I have said before, this moment broke my heart and a lot of it had something to do with Newman's score. There was so much sorrow in it that it almost feel inevitable in it's outcome. There are a couple of scores here that feels similar to his future works like Road To Perdition and Revolutionary Road, but everyone has their trademarks.

The main focus of the film is on Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boy "Red" Redding. Andy is played by Tim Robbins and he did a great job playing this character. As Andy stays in the prison for so many years, we see the rise and fall of his experience there. During the speech about living and dying, would have you left feeling ambiguous about him, as he seems to be deciding on the path that he would be taking, and we don't truly find out his intentions until later on the film. Robbins at the beginning of the film trying to adjust to his life in this haunting prison is one of the best moments of his performance, because along with great direction and writing, there is so much more that needed to be known about this character as he has yet shown his true colors, and Robbins understood this by allowing introspection to take charge of character development. Morgan Freeman was great as Red, and he seems to be a representation of us if we ever personally have met Andy. His narration was excellent in it's execution, as it felt genuine and not at all for the sake of telling a story or talking up Andy, there seems to be more of it rather than what is just projected on the surface. It is Red that we truly feel connected to because he is the only one that we ever get inside of. We see the effect that Andy has had on him, and in a way we feel that too. The chemistry between Robbins and Freeman was fantastic. As the film explores both of the characters, we get to see the friendship that they have created for each other, and it is heartwarming. The supporting cast also has done a great job in this film, especially Bob Gunton, James Whitmore and Bill Sadler.

The Shawshank Redemption is an amazing piece of cinema, and Darabont has created something that has inspired so many people to not give up on themselves and believe in hope. If a film has the ability to touch so many people, then it is definitely something very special.