Right review time, another movie, this time its the public favourite from the 1990s, The Shawshank Redemption, based on the Stephen King novel and directed by Frank Daranbont. On its release Shawshank wasn't initially that much of a commercial success, it received good reviews and over time its become one of the most popular films within the public eye. So let's have a look at it.
The film begins in 1947 with Andy DuFresne (Tim Robbins), a banker who is convincted of murdering his wife, who had an affair with a man, and is sent to Shawshank prison for two consecutive life sentences. In prison Andy finds it tough to adapt, however he soon befriends one of the inamtes, Ellis Boyd Redding, nicknamed "Red" (Morgan Freeman) who is the man "who can get things" from the outside for other prisoners. However Andy is forced to fight against the brutal inmates called "The Sisters", lead by Bogs (Mark Rolston), who try to gang-rape or beat him up any chance they get. This harrowing routines carries on for Andy for the next two years, however in the spring of 1949, the prison warden, Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) orders the roof of the prison to be re-tarred, which allows a number of the prisoners to volunteer for the job, including Andy and Red. Whilst during the job, Andy listens in on a conversation between the head of the guards, the brutal Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) who talks about some money he has been left by his dead brother, but is annoyed at the government taxing it. Andy at the risk of his life offers Byron a way to get around this financial woe, who initially is reluctant to accept his service, but relents (and let's Andy live after nearly throwing him off the roof!). Soon after this Andy is attacked again by the Sisters, who very nearly beat him to death, as a result Bogs is sent to the hole for a week, and once he get's out, Byron is awaiting him in his cell, and beats the crap out of Bogs, leaving him disabled for the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Once Andy gets out of the infirmary he is soon approached by Norton, who assigns him to the prison library to help out one of the prison old timers, Hatlen Brooks (James Whitmore) who does his rounds delivering books to the inmates. Andy is also approached by one of the guards who asks him to set up a trust fund for his kids, and soon after this Andy starts to do the tax returns for all the guards at the prison as well as Norton's. In the meantime Brooks receives his parole to get out of prison, however on the outside he struggles to adjust to life in the world, after 50 years in prison, he hangs himself, however before he does he writes a letter he sends back to his prison mates, on reading the letter, Red sadly says "he should have died in here". After this Andy writes letter to the Government request funds to improve the decrepit library, who send him old books and sundry items, including records, one of which Andy finds is the Marriage of Figaro, which he puts on in Norton's office over the public speaker system, which pisses off Norton, who puts Andy in solitary confinement for two weeks.
After Andy is released he is soon involved in processing the profits of Norton's scams in using the prisoners in manual labour work, in which he makes a whole lot of money, and he has Andy launder the money, which he does under the alias of "Randall Stevens", so the IRS don't trace it back to him. As the years move on, in 1965, a young man, Tommy (Gil Bellows) is sent to Shawshank prison after a B & E charge (breaking and entering) and soon befriends the others. Tommy also seeks Andy's help in getting his high school qualifications, as he dropped out of school, who helps him in doing so. However after taking his exam, Tommy feels frustrated and scrunches up his exam paper and throws it in the bin, regardless, Andy retrieves it from the bin and posts it (we later find out that Tommy passed his exams). Tommy more importantly on hearing how Andy ended up in jail, is compelled to tell them that he knew a man in a previous stretch he did in another prison, who boasted that he broke into a home and killed a golf pro and a woman while they were having sex (this reflects Andy's circumstances as his wife was having an affair with a golf pro). On hearing this Andy goes to Norton and tells him the story, who refuses to accept the story, who obviously doesn't want him to leave the prison since he is making money off Andy, and instead sends him to the hole for a month. While Andy is in solitary confinement, Norton speaks to Tommy outside the prison compound and asks him if he is willing to testify his story in court, to which Tommy agrees. Norton then looks up and walks away as we see Bryon from above shoot Tommy dead with a rifle. With Andy still in confinement, Norton tells him of Tommy's death (playing it down as if Tommy tried to escape), and he insists that he will carry on helping him with his scams or he will do the hardest time there is, and he gives Andy another month in the hole "to think about it".
Once again get's out of confinement, he speaks to Red and says that he wishes for the dream of reaching a Mexican town on the pacific coast, Ziuhatanejo, and if Red ever get's out he is to try and locate a hayfield up in Buxton where they will be something for him. Red, clearly worried by how Andy is talking, has a sleepless night in his cell, and in the morning, the guards are stunned to find that Andy is missing from his cell. Norton angrily questions Red to see if he knows anything, which Red says he has no idea where Andy is. Norton then throws a small rock (from Andy's rock collection on the window sill) through the big picture of Racquel Welch on Andy's wall (as he over the years got Red to get him posters of different Hollywood starlets), which Norton rips off to find a big hole in the wall. Andy obviously having escaped from prison also sets things in motion to get his revenge on the warden, and sends evidence of his money laundering to one of the banks who sends it to the newspapers. Once Norton's scams are made public in the press (as well as Tommy's murder), on about to being arrested by the police, he shoots himself before they can take him. Red soon also receives his parole not longer after, and on getting out he goes to find that hayfield in Buxton, where something is waiting for him from Andy. (Wow that was a long one!).
There is no doubt that the Shawshank Redemption is very entertaining film, and its undoubtedly quite an uplifting one as well, as it offers so much hope in the face of such dispair in the hopelessness of prison life. Andy almost at times manages to transcend everyone else around him, and despite all the horrible beatings and treatment he receives in his time at Shawshank, nothing breaks his spirit, as he remains singularly determined to try and escape and live in hope. The characters in Shawshank prison are almost universally well drawn out and the inmates for the most part are almost quite endearing, especially as Red, and his other friends welcome Andy. But it is of course Andy and Red's friendship that is very much at the heart of the film, as the two men become close friends on the inside, and at the end andy gives Red hope in the prospect of a life outside prison.
Performance wise there is little to fault here, as Tim Robbins is terrific as Andy, as he plays him with a quiet sense of self assuredness, as well as a sense of determination to get through his sentence, and as Red at one point says to "crawl to freedom through a river of shit to reach the other side". Morgan Freeman is also simply superb as Red, who despite his crime, once as a young man, who committed murder, now lives in regret, and he is basically a decent man who once did a bad thing. Morgan also provides the voice over narration and he does it very well, and in doing so he delivers some of the film's best lines. The dialogue is also amusingly blunt at times, and Red's voice over when Byron gives the prisoners beers for their hard work is great as he says "the colossal prick even managed to sound magmanimous!". I also like the line where he refers to Tommy, when Andy helps him get his high school equivalency qualification saying "Andy got a thrill out of helping a youngster crawl off the shit heap".
The supporting cast is also excellent, with William Sadler, who plays Heywood, one of Red's prison buddies, who is at first a bit menacing especially as he delights in winding up new inmates into breaking down in tears, just for the sake of a bet, but as the film goes on he becomes a more endearing guy. Bob Gunton is also great as the corrupt warden, Norton, who makes money through laundering scams, and basically wants to keep Andy where he is, so he can get rich. And Clancy Brown also makes a notable performance as the brutal head of the guards, Byron Hadley, and he also get's some great lines, one of my favs is where he confronts one of the new prisoners who breaks down crying and he says "What's your malfunction you fat barrel of monkey spunk???!". James Whitmore also puts in a nice performance as the old timer Brooks, who spends most of his life in jail, and even has a bird, just like in The Birdman of Alcatraz. And finally Mark Rolston, who plays the part of Bogs, the vicious ring leader of the "Sisters", does very well with his performance as the loathsome and brutal rapist who lusts after Andy's ass (literally!). In fact Frank Darabont said he was really keen to cast Rolston in the part, as he loved him as Drake in Aliens!
Direction wise, Frank Darabont does a great job with Stephen King's novel, and the dialogue is really colourful (as I've already highlighted) and beautifully well written. The film also has stunning photography from the master cinemaphotographer, Roger Deakins (who filmed most of the Coehn brothers movies) and a terrific score from Thomas Newman, which is very poignant and elegant throughout.
And if you watch Shawshank Redemption its worth watching the 10th anniversary DVD edition, which also features a very enjoyable commentary from Frank Darabont, who's enthusiasm for the film is more than evident. And there is a funny moment in it where he says for the scene where the wartden shoots himself, that the bullet wound was positioned slightly off centre under Bob's at the time the film make-up was done, but in the 10th anniversary edition, they digitaly fixed the bullet wound to have it dead centre under Bob Gunton's chin. And Frank says he was glad to fix it as it was "bugging him for 10 YEARS!!".
The film itself doesn't have too many flaws although if it does have any, I would say the one sequence I'm not so keen is where Brooks tries to adjust to life outside prison, as I found it a bit heavy and depressing in a way, even though it is important in highlighting the dispair these men must feel after being so dependant on the inside. You could also argue the prisoners in the film are at times look like they are at a day camp, especially after such a stark opening sequence where Andy and the other new inmates are stripped naked and hosed down, soon after this it settles down into a pretty routine and almost leisurely life, as they laugh and joke around. Perhaps also the film is a little sentimental in its closure with Morgan riding the bus to the pacific coast off Mexico, and he says "I hope the pacific is as blue as it is in my dreams". Its trying to be a bit too precious at times. Although one of the film's most moving moments comes where Red sadly works in the prison grounds and looks up, after Andy has escaped, he realises "that some birds were not meant to be caged" and he narrates "I guess I just miss my friend".
But all that aside, the Shawshank Redemption justly remains a favourite in the public eye and to this day its still an uplifting movie that is bound to have a few people with a little something in their eye by the time its all over.
So with that I will leave it there.
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