The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – The Genius in Simplicity and Details

SPOILER WARNING.

Excuse the belatedness of this post. I had some health issues, and while it wasn’t as serious as I make it sound, even a simple cold can sometimes trip your brain.

I have been lectured by most of my friends, film students or not, for not seeing this. I mean according to IMDB this is the best film of all time so HOW COULD A FILM STUDENT NOT HAVE SEEN IT? Long story short…I have my reasons. A good thing is the fact that despite it being not recent and very famous film, I didn’t know much about it. So, spoiler free, I sat down to watch the best film of all time.

I will be honest. I did not expect what I saw, it wasn’t a grand epic with deaths emphasised as if it was a Greek tragedy, it wasn’t overwhelming, it was purely…simple, in the best sense of the word possible. The Shawshank Redemption is a story about a man that experiences all types of hell in prison and comes out on top after changing not only his fate but the prison as a whole. It’s a story about dreams, humanity and the downfalls and comebacks in life. As a film, it perfectly balances the quiet and slow moment with the tension of the end, the success of the main characters to the downfalls and deaths to others that the spectator has grown to love.

The main character of the film – Andy played by Tim Robbins, is a man wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, serving two life-sentences in jail he meets the smuggler Red (Morgan Freeman) who becomes his best friend. The plot explores the way Andy differs from the rest of the newly arrived prisoners and the pain and unfairness he goes through on daily basis (including the brutality of sexual assault by a gang called “The Sisters”). All narrated by Morgan Freeman’s voice, despite the great choice of a narrator, the writing is poetic and personal. It was a joy for me to see Morgan Freeman in an older film before he became a pop culture icon popping up in every other blockbuster as a minor role. While Andy is the main character of the story, Red is very much the main character of the film, he is a narrator, participator and often at the same level as the spectator  when it comes to the hierarchy of knowledge especially at the end when (did I mention SPOILER ALERT) Andy manages to escape prison and find a way to his new life.

Every word, scene and physical piece of décor in the film explore the characters’ emotions. The prison itself is portrayed as a menacing and harsh environment, led by people with questionable moral values. The colours are dull, although sometimes become bright whenever Andy succeeds in creating a warm atmosphere in the prison. The point of view shots are hidden as just a regular camera movement, avoiding the personal aspect. Some of the pans treat the set of the prison as if it is a gorgeous nature scenery, contributing to the idea that prison is what all these people have. The action itself rarely takes us out of the prison as well, and even when it does it shows the effects of the confinements on the human mind and personality as we see with Brooks.

What I find incredible about the film is also how it handles crowds and race, as well as time pacing. Making a single person be obviously visible in a crowd shot could be challenging and often requires more than just strong actor’s presence. Frank Darabont does it with brilliant cinematography and directing of the rest of the people in the scene. One of my favourite and probably best cinema channels on Youtube - Cinefix (do subscribe to them if you enjoy film knowledge) talk about it in their video: 3 Brilliant Moments in the Visuals of Emotion, mentioning the sequence of Brooks being released and him not being able to cope with the life outside prison. This crowd directing happens in different scene throughout the film, mostly framing Andy and Red in a similar way.

I also wanted to mention the way race is or isn’t handled in this film as well. After watching more recent TV series like Prison Break and Orange is The New Black where a very clear division is made between races in prison crowds. It took me by surprise and it was a pleasant one that Shawshank does not do that. Yes, black characters are definitely not the majority of prisoners, but Red as one of the main characters is not looked down upon because of his race, on the contrary, he has a high reputation among prisoners, and while nowadays this portrayal of racial division could do with more recent political and social issues of racial discrimination in America (e.g. Season 4 of Orange is the New Black), The Shawshank Redemption avoids this topic and focuses on the characters’ personalities.

Overall, I am glad I finally sat down and watched The Shawshank Redemption. Its handling of small plot points only to create a twist and engaging story is purely brilliant and definitely deserve the recognition it has. At some point while watching it I remember finding it quite slow, and it was then when I realised it is doing its job well in portraying existence in prison as time slows down there. It is a genuinely smooth and well-made film with engaging writing and characters.