July 4, 2010: The Shawshank Redemption
When asked what my favourite movie is, like any movie fan I can’t really give an answer without a bunch of clauses narrowing the field and leaving room for other top films which might not happen to be #1. Whenever I am forced to answer with a single title, I tend to go with The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
That’s not to say that this is the greatest movie ever made, but it’s a movie that I can put on, which will mesmerize me at any time, and which I must watch through to the end from whatever point I start it. There’s a complexity to its craft and yet a simplicity to its flow. I measure the number of times I’ve seen The Shawshank Redemption not in “times” but in weeks.
A nuanced and deliberately paced prison drama, The Shawshank Redemption is based on a short story by Stephen King, and benefits from strong casting and direction. Andy Dufresne is a man who has been wrongfully convicted of killing his adulterous wife in the 1940s, and is sent to a maximum security prison for a life sentence, where his smarts, his passion for living, and his patience come to inspire his friends over a span of multiple decades. Played by the always-fascinating Tim Robbins, Andy has a quiet confidence in himself and all of humanity even as he struggles to make sense of the injustice he has suffered. He comes out on top in the end, but pays his dues along the way. His closest friend, Red, played by Morgan Freeman (who also provides beautiful voiceover work), has already been in prison for 20 years by the time Andy arrives, and shares his spark of life. As the corruption and violence in the prison become worse and worse over the years, Andy is eventually forced to make a stand.
Tied together by Red’s parole hearings every 10 years, as he claims to be rehabilitated but is repeatedly turned down, The Shawshank Redemption has a carefully constructed timeline whose simple basic structure makes the film very accessible, but upon multiple viewings the complexity of the intertwined stories can be appreciated without being overwhelming. Andy’s development of friends and enemies in the prison, his burgeoning accounting work escalating to money laundering, the warden’s and the main guard’s changing perspectives, the possibility of Andy’s retrial with new evidence, the expansion of the prison library, and the release on parole of one of the old-timers, are all placed in such a way as to build upon and incorporate the wisdom gained from earlier events. The Shawshank Redemption is long, but worth every minute, taking the time to really let us get to know the characters, and with a captivating final half hour as everything is tied together.
I saw the trailer for The Shawshank Redemption several times in the theatre, but never saw the film itself until its release on video. The trailer somehow didn’t make the movie appeal to me at the time, although I remember it clearly. The awkward name certainly didn’t help it at the box office. It seemed to be a significant contender at the Oscars that year, with seven nominations, but the fact that it didn’t receive a nomination for Best Director was a bad sign, as it tends to be an indicator that a film will not win the big prize. This was the year of the sweep by Forrest Gump, with Pulp Fiction in the wings, so without the benefit of the good word of mouth which didn’t spread like wildfire until after its video release, The Shawshank Redemption was not a high-profile picture at the time. That has all changed now, with it sitting atop the IMDB Top 250 list, with Forrest Gump only making #37. I’m obviously not the only one who has been struck by the power of this film, and while I feel a bit like I’ve just been sucked in with the crowd, I did discover and grow to love this film on my own.
It’s surprising, therefore, that director Frank Darabont, who cowrote the screenplay with Stephen King, hasn’t been more prolific or successful in his filmmaking career. The Green Mile, released in 1999 and starring Tom Hanks, did reasonable box office business but has the appearance of chasing another Shawshank-style story and comes up noticeably short, though the film still has its followers. But Darabont’s later films reveal a typical box office take around $30 million aside from The Green Mile, which strongly suggests that it was the popular Hanks’ star power which elevated that film in particular, and we can conclude that Darabont is not a particularly bankable director. The Shawshank Redemption may be claimed as my favourite film, but as a director, Frank Darabont is no Martin Scorsese.
Powerful yet compassionate angle on humanity.
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