The Shawshank Redemption
The first film I chose was the Shawshank
redemption, directed by Frank Darabont. And produced by Niki Marvin. The film
was made in 1994 but was set from the 1940s to the 1960s in an American prison.
The movie was rated R due to sexual and violent themes as well as profanity.
The target audience for the film is predominantly adults and potentially
matured teenagers. I will be analysing the content of the film as well as if it
fits the conventions typical of the drama genre.
Synopsis
The film, based off of the novel by Stephan
King, is about a man named Andy Defresne who was sentenced to two lifetimes in
prison for the murder of his wife and the man she cheated on him with despite
being innocent. The story follows his life in prison where he befriends a man named
Red and eventually makes a decent name for himself in the prison among prison
mates and the guards and warden. Andy ends up doing financial work for the
guards and works directly for the warden to ensure he doesn’t get caught for
money he was immorally gaining through under-priced labour costs and bribes.
Eventually, Andy escapes from the prison through a tunnel he had been digging
for years and uses the money and identification he’d created for the warden to
begin a new life as a new man. Some years after this, Red is released and finds
Andy and the two friends are reunited as free men.
Genre
The Shawshank redemption’s genre is drama
and it fits the conventions very well. Drama films should normally depict real
life situations with realistic characters and setting, which the film manages
very well. It showed the very real corruption of prisons with a wide variety of
characters both innocent and not who were both relatable and realistic. They
should also include character development, which we see in Andy Defresne’s
character as he becomes accustomed to life in the prison and we are able to see
how the different experiences impacted him such as the emotional damage caused
by the sexual abuse he suffered from a group of the men in the prison. The
story should also be emotionally moving which we experience throughout, the
film evoking emotions like anticipation, fear, sadness, happiness, humour and
contemplation. A specifically sad scene is when Brooks (an elderly man who was
released from the prison after many years) commits suicide after he isn’t able
to cope with life outside of the prison. It shows the harsh reality that some
prisoners experienced when no real support prepared them for real life and so
they lived in fear and unease. Climaxes and anti-climaxes are also important
features of drama as it keeps the audience engaged. Throughout the Shawshank
redemption there were several points of conflict and also periods of happiness
and peace such as where the library was running smoothly, or when Andy played
music for everyone in the prison. Most
importantly, the ending should have some form of realisation or happy ending,
which is achieved in the Shawshank redemption with the corrupt prison being
revealed to the press and Andy’s escape to live his life once again.
Narrative Analysis
The story was told following the story of
Andy Defresne however was narrated by Red and followed his characters
perspective and thoughts on what was happening. The film itself was linear and
in chronological order, however the narration was in the past tense as he’s
telling the story as it’s already happened. The film was set over about 20
years so had many time skips to show the most important experiences of his time
in prison. The protagonist of the story
is Andy, with the narrative following his problems and experiences. Red fills
the role of the sidekick, being by Andy’s side throughout the whole film and
helping him and getting others to help him with anything he needs. For example
when he got all of the men to collect rocks for Andy to make chess pieces out
of, or when he got posters for Andy’s room (though not aware the purpose was to
cover the tunnel Andy had created). The warden holds the antagonist role as he
controls the prison and is the undeniable force of power in the prison. Despite
a temporary truce between him and Andy where he is happily working for the
warden, upon Andy discovering evidence he’s innocent the warden locks him in
solitary for 2 months to ensure he doesn’t consider leaving the warden and
orders the murder of the man who provided Andy with the evidence source (Tommy).
Some of the biggest themes within the Shawshank Redemption are freedom,
confinement and hope. With the film being set in a prison, freedom is a huge
theme as our main characters want freedom from the prison and in Andy’s case he
doesn’t even deserve to be there. Confinement is explored not only through the
literal prison setting but the restrictions on everything the individual stand
for, with their entertainment, education, hope and lives being restricted by
life in prison. Hope is also a huge theme as that’s what Andy stands as a
symbol of throughout the story, with his efforts to create a new library, that
succeeds, and being able to get privileges outside of the norm for those in the
prison and of course when he escapes its proof that their lives do not end
inside the prison.
Film content
Throughout the film, very little music is
used in the background apart from atmospheric music when red is narrating the
story. This keeps the serious tone of the story and is suitable to the prison
setting where things like music wouldn’t be present in the first place. It also
gave much more impact to the scene where Andy plays music to the whole prison
due to the lack of it previously making it stand out as entertainment more. Lighting is also used well in the film to set
mood in scenes and portray dark characters. In the scene where the warden has
Tommy murdered, he walks out from the darkness into the light foreshadowing the
evil intentions he had in the scene and clearly showing the viewer that he is
an evil character.
Conclusion
Overall, the Shawshank redemption tells its
story effectively using all of the different elements of the drama genre and
following conventions. Throughout, mood and tone are set very well and create a
very emotional and well told film. The film has received many positive reviews,
one example being “The Shawshank
Redemption is an uplifting, deeply satisfying prison drama with
sensitive direction and fine performances,” which I firmly agree with.
Personally, I would consider this film one of my favourites due to its maturity
and seriousness while being emotionally gripping. The characters are likeable
and complex and the whole film brings up many moral questions and is thought
provoking. I would recommend anyone to watch this film as it’s a truly great
film with many turns in the plot to keep you engaged.
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