THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1994 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: This is a beautifully told and
photographed story of a man who transforms an entire
prison through his humanity. With acting and production
values uniformly excellent, this film works on both the
literal level and as an allegory. It could well make it
to the status of being a classic like ONE FLEW OVER THE
CUCKOO'S NEST. Rating: low +3 (-4 to +4)
I never read Stephen King's 1982 novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," part of his collection DIFFERENT SEASONS. But it is difficult to believe that THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION could be very accurate to this non-horror King story. As much as I like King, it is difficult to believe he wrote a story as good as this film adaptation. The theme is the strength of humanity over brutality--much the same theme as SCHINDLER'S LIST--and Frank Darabont has crafted a film, writing and directing, that compares favorably with ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. There is a lot going on in THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and parts will remind viewers of such diverse films as BILLY BUDD, OF MICE AND ME, and even DEAD POETS SOCIETY. The film is another parable, following on the heels of FORREST GUMP. But where GUMP was content to create a period feel and present a message of "Just be simple and let everything happen to you," SHAWSHANK is a much better piece of storytelling and has just the opposite message, "Stand up and take control of your life. Get busy living or get busy dying." Forrest Gump would last about one week in Shawshank Prison. Andy Dufresne, the focus of this story, is a survivor. And he is more.
As the film opens Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) is about to murder his wife and her lover. On the witness stand he denies that he ever completed the crime. But if he didn't, somebody else did, and all the evidence points to Andy. The sentence is two consecutive life terms in Shawshank Penitentiary--not much of a life for a banker. The film follows Andy's life in prison. The first two years are just the hell that everyone expects prison to be. Worse. But a chance comment by the most brutal of the guards, Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown), gives Andy an idea of how with one stroke he can get on the good side of guards and prisoners alike. And among the prisoners he particularly want to be friends with Red, the prison scrounge. Red is useful to have as a friend, not only because he is a man of character whom the other prisoners respect, not only because he can get Andy what he needs to make his life a little easier, but also because he is the story narrator and it is never a bad idea in a film to be on the good side of the narrator. In the book Red was Irish, but here he is played with tremendous dignity by Morgan Freeman.
In the years that pass in Shawshank--and they do pass quickly even if the film has a leisurely pace--Andy finds ways to make himself indispensable to the sadistic, Bible-thumping Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) and the guards, always winning more concessions to make life better for the inmates. Through Red's and Andy's eyes we see the ironies of prison life. But there is much more to the story than that of a goody-goody in prison, and the plot has interesting complications. A surprisingly long segment of the film is devoted to one of the minor prisoners released to the outside world only to find adjustment a difficult proposition. But the investment of screen time for this subplot pays off later in the film.
This is a film with excellent production values almost without exception. Prison movies are an entire genre, I suppose, and in the hands of a less skilled photographer Shawshank could have come off as just dismal as any other prison film without any particular visual interest. But the director of photography was Roger Deakins whose films include MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, HOMICIDE, BARTON FINK, and THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. He is a man with a very good eye for the visual in period pieces and from the first scene of guards on the walls of Shawshank his photography has excellent composition and detail. Production design is by Oscar-winner Terence Morgan, who did design for such diverse films as DR. ZHIVAGO, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Between the two we see a prison that visually captures our interest. This is no small feat for a prison picture. To some extent, Shawshank is so well photographed, it gives the film almost a poetic feel rather than one of realism, but for a longish film that is the way to go. The one serious problem visually with the production is in makeup. The film covers 19 years from 1947 to 1966 under conditions that should age people quickly. A little greying in the hair of the main characters seems the only concession made to the aging process. More of the period feel is added by having the film narrated. That is more in the style of filmmaking of the 40s and 50s.
This is a film that takes its time at 142 minutes, but it does a lot in that time. My rating is a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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