THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
A film review by Eric Grossman
Copyright 1994 LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT
Hope and friendship, that is what lies at the heart of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, a powerful and moving film based on Stephen King's novella that stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.
In a captivating performance, Robbins portrays Andy Dufresne, a mild-mannered banker who, despite his ardent pleas, is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover. Andy is given two life terms and sent to Maine's Shawshank Prison, a cold, inhumane place made of steel and stone. Morgan Freeman, in another Oscar caliber performance, plays Red, the twenty-year veteran who can smuggle anything through the prison walls for money and maybe a few cigarettes. Red quickly notices that Andy does not seem to belong at Shawshank, but he likes the young banker and the two quickly become friends.
More than prison brutality or prison escapes, both of which are featured in the film, "Shawshank" is really about the bond that develops between the inmates. Andy discovers a group of people who have buried their hope to maintain their sanity. "Hope is a dangerous thing," Red explains, but Andy will not give in to Shawshank. For years, he writes the Governor twice a week to get funds to expand the prison library from a tiny, dust-filled room to a place where inmates can pass their high school equivalency tests. Andy tries to resurrect the dreams of those who have, or are becoming, "institutionalized." In the film, the meaning of the word is intended for those who cannot live beyond the walls of the prison. The seventy-five-year-old Librarian, Brooks (a superb performance by James Whitmore) is so afraid to leave the prison that he threatens his friend with a knife so that he will not make parole. Brooks cannot face the idea of leaving Shawshank, a place where he is known, respected and has a purpose, for a world that has long since left him behind.
While Andy gives hope to the others, he learns from them, especially Red, to open up emotionally. Although innocent of pulling the trigger, Andy feels guilty nonetheless because he pushed away his wife with his selfishness. He confesses to Red that had he been more open, more sharing, she would have neverhad the affair with the golf pro and hence, would have never been killed Red disagrees, but in any case, Andy has served his time for his sin.
While in prison, Andy becomes indispensable to the prison personnel. After he saves the brutal Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown) from paying taxes through the nose, Andy and his friends are given three beers apiece. Soon, all the guards are bringing Andy their 1040 forms and to top it all off, the Bible-thumping Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) has Andy working as his personal accountant. Red is shocked when Andy tells him that the seemingly moral warden is as guilty as his prisoners. Norton takes money in the form of kick-backs from contractors competing against his cheap, prison labor. This adds a level of irony to the story as the innocent man on the inside becomes a slave to the criminal who holds the key.
Writer/director Frank Darabont has made one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King story to date. His flowing camera-moves and sure-handed nurturing of the performances appear to be the work of a seasoned pro, not someone making his first film. In addition to the stars, the cast includes William Sadler, Mark Rolston, and Gil Bellows as Tommy, the young, naive thief whom Andy takes under his wing.
Production designer Terence Marsh creates one of the most important characters in the story, Shawshank prison, and "Barton Fink" cinematographer, Roger Deakins, gives the film its beautiful but stark look. Editor Richard Francis Bruce establishes a steady, deliberate pace that makes the audience feel the "slow time" of the prison without boring them. The authentic costumes are by Elizabeth McBride and Thomas Newman musical score is a key component to the movie's mood and emotional impact.
If it were not for the Academy Awards, we probably would not get films like this. Very heavy at times, but overall uplifting, SHAWSHANK is certain to garner its fair share of Oscar nominations. The only problem with the film is that with the exception of several inmates, the Sisters, who like to rape certain inmates, is that it paints most of the prisoners as decent, likable people. The audience is given no sense of their brutality and what they did to be sent to Shawshank in the first place. We feel sympathy for these inmates because of the brutality and emotional starvation they face, but perhaps we would feel differently if we saw the cold corpse of one of their victims.
However, this flaw is not fatal primarily because the film is not as much about violence and crime as it is about hope and its power to redeem the human spirit. Shawshank is a metaphor for our own private prisons that we trap ourselves in. Like the prisoners of Shawshank who have been "institutionalized," we often face the same dilemma of leaving our private jail cells where at least, we know where we stand. "Better get busy living, or get busy dying," Red says. These are words everyone can learn from, not just criminals.
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