Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption” — Takeaways
Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of watching movies:
To be a good screenwriter, you need to have a broad exposure to the world of film. Every movie you see is a potential reference point for your writing, everything from story concepts you generate to characters you develop to scenes you construct. Moreover people who work in the movie business constantly reference existing movies when discussing stories you write; it’s a shorthand way of getting across what they mean or envision.
But most importantly, you need to watch movies in order to ‘get’ how movie stories work. If you immerse yourself in the world of film, it’s like a Gestalt experience where you begin to grasp intuitively scene composition, story structure, character functions, dialogue and subtext, transitions and pacing, and so on.
Let me add this: It’s important to see movies as they get released so that you stay on top of the business. Decisions get made in Hollywood in large part depending upon how movies perform, so watching movies as they come out puts you in the same head space as reps, producers, execs, and buyers.
For this week’s movie, we go back in time to 1994: The Shawshank Redemption, screenplay by Frank Darabont, novella by Stephen King.
Our schedule for discussion this week:
Monday: General Comments
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways
For those of you who have not seen the movie, do not click MORE as we will be trafficking in major spoilers. But seriously, if you haven’t seen The Shawshank Redemption, stop whatever you’re doing and watch it! If you have seen The Shawshank Redemption, I invite you to join me in breaking down and analyzing the movie.
My big takeaway: Become friendly with Stephen King and get him to let you option his stories for a dollar!
Seriously from a writing standpoint, let me focus on two things. First, when writing a story which takes place over multiple decades, study The Shawshank Redemption’s use of voice-over narration. It’s superb. If you feel like your story could benefit from using this narrative device, a combination of helping to smooth the transitions of time jumps and revealing the inner lives of key characters, then despite the supposed conventional wisdom against using voice-over narration, feel free to embrace it.
Second, grace notes. They are all over Shawshank. My favorite is how Darabont used the harmonica in the story. From the script:
ANDY
I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company.
Hardly felt the time at all.RED
Oh, they let you tote that record
player down there, huh? I could'a
swore they confiscated that stuff.ANDY
(taps his heart, his head)
The music was here...and here.
That's the one thing they can't
confiscate, not ever. That's the
beauty of it. Haven't you ever felt
that way about music, Red?RED
Played a mean harmonica as a younger
man. Lost my taste for it. Didn't
make much sense on the inside.ANDY
Here's where it makes most sense.
We need it so we don't forget.RED
Forget?ANDY
That there are things in this world
not carved out of gray stone. That
there's a small place inside of us
they can never lock away, and that
place is called hope.RED
Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a
man insane. It's got no place here.
Better get used to the idea.ANDY
(softly)
Like Brooks did?
Then this:
152 EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DUSK (1957) 152Red emerges into fading daylight. Andy's waiting for him.RED
Same old, same old. Thirty years.
Jesus. When you say it like that...ANDY
You wonder where it went. I wonder
where ten years went.Red nods, solemn. They settle in on the bleachers. Andy
pulls a small box from his sweater, hands it to Red.ANDY
Anniversary gift. Open it.Red does. Inside the box, on a thin layer of cotton, is a
shiny new harmonica, bright aluminum and circus-red.ANDY
Had to go through one of your
competitors. Hope you don't mind.
Wanted it to be a surprise.RED
It's very pretty, Andy. Thank you.ANDY
You gonna play something?Red considers it, shakes his head. Softly:RED
Not today.
And this:155 INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1957) 155...and we find Red gazing blankly as darkness takes the
cellblock. Adding up the months, weeks, days...He regards the harmonica like a man confronted with a
Martian artifact. He considers trying it out -- even
holds it briefly to his lips, almost embarrassed --
but puts it back in its box untested. And there the
harmonica will stay...FADE TO BLACK
Now that is all set up for a tiny grace note. When Red hitches a ride up to that field in Buxton, he trudges along looking for that tree Andy had described:ANDY
(turns back)
Red, if you ever get out of here,
do me a favor. There's this big
hayfield up near Buxton. You know
where Buxton is?RED
(nods)
Lots of hayfields there.ANDY
One in particular. Got a long rock
wall with a big oak at the north
end. Like something out of a Robert
Frost poem. It's where I asked my
(MORE)ANDY (cont.)
wife to marry me. We'd gone for a
picnic. We made love under that
tree. I asked and she said yes.
(beat)
Promise me, Red. If you ever get
out, find that spot. In the base of
that wall you'll find a rock that
has no earthly business in a Maine
hayfield. A piece of black volcanic
glass. You'll find something buried
under it I want you to have.RED
What? What's buried there?ANDY
You'll just have to pry up that
rock and see.
So when Red sees that wall, then peers up and spots that tree, what do we hear in the soundtrack? A harmonica. Not once, but twice. The only time in the movie. To listen, go here and move to 2:45 and 3:10 of the clip.Andy talks about how music can remind us of hope.He offers a taste of hope to Red with the gift of the harmonica, but Red refuses to accept it.But when Red finally gets free, rejects committing suicide like Brooks, and heads up to Buxton, what happens when he spots that magical tree? Harmonicas. And then this. And this.In our work with stories, when we surface grace notes, that not only suggests we are communing with the material in a deep and meaningful way, it also communicates that to the reader.How about you? As a writer, what do you take away from The Shawshank Redemption?See you in comments for your thoughts... I hope.
