“The Shawshank Redemption”

Three people, upon hearing my project synopsis, told me I needed to see this movie. I wish, when I told them I was going to go watch the DVD in the library one night, they had told me that it was a two and a half hour movie. The thing was, it didn’t feel long, and despite the fact that it was getting very late and I was very tired, I could not stop watching it. This is an excellent example of a captivating drama, and it immediately gave me several ideas of what I’d like to write about in my review.

Rather than focusing on the acting and direction of the film, I’d like to talk a little bit about the theme. In one of my other classes (English 270) we recently read a short story by Rebecca Harding Davis called “Life in the Iron Mills” . I bring this story up because it asks the question “Who gets to live the American Dream?” in relation to the repression of immigrants on the economic ladder. I feel that Shawshank asks us a very similar question, with convicts replacing the roles of immigrants. To me, this is where the seemingly universal appeal of the movie inherently lies.

We all want to believe that if we are innocent, justice will be served to us. In the case of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins, who apparently has been in many things that I HAVE seen, although I wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd), he takes his life sentence for a crime he knows he did not commit with a sense of resigned dignity. We have only the narration presented by Red (Morgan Freeman, in a performance that gave me flashbacks to my Million Dollar Baby review), and therefore no insight to what Andy is actually thinking, or what motivates him. Once he finds happiness in his occupation of librarian at the jail, and as the viewer watches him accomplish more and more for the prison, we feel our hope elevated alongside Andy’s. This sequence of events caters to the belief that defines the “American Dream” – through hard work and dedication, anyone can elevate themselves to greatness. However, for Andy this is not true – the road of hope is road-blocked. Corrupt wardens aside, he is, after all, still a prisoner with a life sentence. Andy once more becomes acutely aware of his position after he is given a glimmer of a chance to prove his innocence and it is snatched away.

The movie could have ended there, and I feel like it still would have been a worthwhile film (this is a point on which I am sure everyone will disagree with me). The film would have then made the viewer stop and think about the systems of injustice that are in place for both the wrongly convicted, and the hard workers who are relentlessly prevented from getting ahead.

Of course, who needs a movie to tell us that life sucks? I feel that the enjoyable, inspiring, and uplifting ending is mostly a by-product of screenwriter Stephen King’s personal quirky style. It is reminiscent of what we will later see from him in The Green Mile - a little unbelievable, and miraculous, and a completely different change of tone from the downtrodden ins and outs of convict life.

Next, I will either be watching Full Metal Jacket (which is a nice tie-in since we're going to be watching Eyes Wide Shut for class), or Top Gun.