The Shawshank Redemption is a narrative theatrical film. The video version has not been reformatted. Darabont interweaves scenes with fluid shots. He tends to take the story at a distance allowing the characters to establish their traits to the audience. A memorable scene is when Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is in court at the beginning of the film. There’s a zoom shot concentrating on Andy’s face. You can see the shock and anguish plastered on his face when the judge declares his final decision to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine. Just as he closes his eyes, the scene fades to a black backdrop, and you can hear the resonating sound of the gavel. Easily one of the best scenes in the movie occurs when Andy is looking through some records that the state has just sent to the prison. He then decides to lock himself in the Public Address (PA) room of the prison, so that the guards do not stop him from playing the record. He goes about doing that, with a grin of pure disregard and unmeasurable joy. The camera goes through a montage that captures the prisoners’ love for the record, despite the fact that they did not exactly understand the words of it. The montage consisted mostly of panning shots and was made fluidly with the camera moving at the same speed in all the shots. Darabont took special notice to the actor’s expressions by using many close-up shots. He wanted to capture the facial expressions and express their feeling of deep longing for simple freedoms. I think that it is important to mention that the music, particularly in this scene, also helps add to the atmosphere of the scene causing a surrealistic feeling of calm. Two evocative instances of dissolve, are when Andy splatters water on his face on the first night spent in jail—the scene takes us from here to the outside of the imposing and oppressive Shawshank State Prison—and near the end of the film when Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman), is headed on a bus towards Zihuatanejo, on the Pacific coast, with the objective to reunite with Andy. That scene fades into the grand blue ocean, the two images mixed together for only a matter of seconds.
Another scene worth noting is the scene in which a character named Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore) feeds pigeons in the park. We listen to the lonely old man recite a letter which he has recently sent his friends in prison. I believe that it is essential to note that the light source in the scene seemingly comes from the sun, consequently causing the trees to cast streaks of shadows onto the character. The camera at first pans along the ground, giving us a full shot of the pigeons eating seeds, and it then tilts up into a low angle shot of the old man. The camera gently slows to a close-up of the man’s facial expression. Darabont then shows us again a full shot, except this time with the elderly man sitting on the bench all alone. This scene gives us a sense of emptiness which is stirring and touching. It grasps you into the reality of how this man, Brooks, a long time inmate of Shawshank had lost his hope. What I believe proved to be most thrilling was the climax which was seen through a series of cuts, a sudden abrupt end to a shot—where one shot was instantly replaced on screen by another. Red recounts what really happened and through these cuts we were able to see Andy’s whole calculated scheme through which he ultimately acquired his much coveted freedom. Furthermore, Andy enacts revenge on those in the prison, providing an unexpected resolution.
The Shawshank Redemption illustrates the potential disparity between initial box office success and ultimate popularity. Despite a lukewarm box office reception, barely enough to cover its budget, it received favorable reviews from critics and has relished a noteworthy life on cable television, home video, DVD and Blu-ray. Shawshank currently heads the Internet Movie Database’s poll of top 250 films, leading such pictures as The Godfather, Star Wars, Goodfellas and Schindler’s List.3
The film score composed by Thomas Newman was a vital element of the movie since it helped establish the mood and perfectly complemented the visuals. For instance, at the introduction to Shawshank Prison the music is slow, played by strings, which adds to the feeling that this is a place of despair and misery. Since the movie transpired throughout a period of nearly two decades, the characters underwent evident external changes such as graying hair and wrinkles. The lighting going along with the scenes, is interesting. For example, the prison inside is dark and lit only by natural light from the windows. Subsequently, this creates long shadows which give an eerie and icy feeling. We get the gut reaction that all is not as it should be—shadows, may, hide secrets. The guards are mostly in the shadows and the lighting that follows them portrays darkness to their characters. They are displayed as harsh and villainy. We should also take into account that the violent scenes all take place in the shadows as well, with low key light. Therefore, the lighting of these scenes evokes a sense of violence without necessarily illustrating it. In regards to archetypes, I think that it’s crucial to mention the caring, smart, and enigmatic banker Andy. This character, played by actor Tim Robbins as mentioned before, comes, changes the prison in his own unique manner, and leaves. Andy is the classic, perhaps unsung, mythic hero.
In my opinion, The Shawshank Redemption communicates a message of the liberating power of hope, and, most importantly, to never lose hope as this is the ultimate means of survival. For this genre of film, drama, I do think that it was successful artistically because the director was able to effectively convey the protagonist’s desperation, agony, and, in due course, his exaltation after escaping from the dreaded Shawshank State Prison.
Rating: 10 out of 10
-Stephanie How
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