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1 Shawshank Redemption Directed by Frank Darabont Produced by Niki Marvin Written by; Novella: Stephen King Screenplay: Frank Darabont Narrated by Morgan Freeman Starring; Tim Robbins Morgan Freeman Bob Gunton William Sadler Clancy Brown Gil Bellows 2 Characterisation and Casting As a character driven movie The shawshank Redemption depends on us connecting to the characters; they must seem real to us. There are two major characters. Initially the film seems to be about one man, but it ends up being more about another. 3 List all the Characters in The Shawshank Redemption. Place them in an appropriate order of importance 4 Andy Dufresne Tim Robbins plays a bank vicepresident who is sentenced to two consecutive life terms for murdering his wife and her lover. He becomes number 37927 and the film follows his survival in the spiritdestroying Shawshank. We learn most about him through his actions and their effect on others, and through Red's observations. Andy is a modest, peaceful man. Although he has suffered an injustice he does not rant and rave; his anger largely remains internal. After initially keeping to himself and adjusting he just gets on with living and does not surrender hope. Andy's private selfcontainment is often interpreted as arrogance or coldness. At his trial he is described as 'icy and remorseless'. When they first meet Recd tells Andy 'rumor has it you're a real cold fish' and Any later admits that his wife found him a hard man to know; he was 'like a closed book'. Andy 1. Referring to the film, find evidence of the following aspects of Andy's personality. Describe the scene and give a quotation or summarize the events. • Intelligent what are his interests? • A survivor how does he survive? • A free, irrepressible spirity what incidents refelct this? • Someone who maintains hope how is this shown? • Fragile looking but has inner strength what is an example of this? • Tenacious how does his escape show this? 2. Andy has been described as a modern hero. What is a hero and in what ways is Andy heroic? 5 Ellis 'Red' Redding Morgan Freeman plays the philosophical convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence and who, in contrast to the other inmates, redily admits his crime. He is a black marketeer he can get things for a price. Red gives advice to others and quietly keeps out of trouble. Red's name comes from the original King story in which Red was an Irishman. the line 'maybe it's because I'm Irish' was left in even when Morgan Freeman was cast as Red. He has: Dignity Wisdom Loyalty Humour Resourcefulness Maturity Sense Generosity Sympathy Sincerity Cynicism Red 1. From your own observations of Red, give example of how he demostrates each of the qualitites. Describe the scene and give a quotation or summarise the events 2. How does Red describe himself? Use quotation to support your answer 6 One of the ways we can learn about characters is through contrast. Compare Red and Andy as they are at the start of Andy's time in Shawshank using the following format. Find evidence (either quotations or incidents form the plot) to support your ideas. Three entries have been done for you... Red Andy Naturally sociable eg centre of a cirle of men Believes hope destroys eg tells Andy hope has no place in Prison Old timer. Has been in prison for 20 years. Introverted and finds it difficult to relate to others, eg believes he drove his wife away. Believes hope gives sense of freedom. Believes in the power fo the mind freedom New fish. We see him arrive 7 Complete the below character development chart. Use the film to get as many quotations and evidence as you can Beginning of Movie Shown by By End of the Movie Shown by Andy What is he like? What is his attitude towards life?What is his attitude towards his sentence and being in Shawshank? How does he relate to people?What are his values? How has he changed?Attitude towards life? Attitude towards his sentence/life in prisonRelationship s?Values? Red What is he like? How does he relate to others? What are his values? What has he learned?How does he relate to others?Values? 8 Other characters... Although the focus of the film is Andy and Red and their friendship, other characters are also important. Amongs other things these minor chara cters influence the action of the film, help us to understand the main characters better and reveal the prison enviroment. Some characters, such as the corrupt, hypocritical Warden Norton, the vicous, sarcastic Captain Hadley and the Sisters, are stereotypes. Their lack of realism adds to the film's mythic, fairytale qualitites. Minor Character Profile As with any other text, we can build up profiles for characters in a film by considering what they do and say and what others say or think about them. Because we are dealing with a visual text we also need to consider what we see of them. 9 Brooks Hatlen James Witmore plays the vulnerable and elderly prison librarian. His character is an important one interms of the film's major themes, prticularly because he provides a contrast to Red. What he does(actions): He looks after the baby bird, Jake, showing his gentleness and kindness. He threatens Heywood with a knife, showing how strong his fear of the outside world is. What he says (dialogue or voice over): 'I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay.' This reveals his vulnerablilty and insecurity. What the others say an dthink about him (dialogue): Red says, 'This place is all he knows. In here, he's an importnt man, an educated man.' This reveals the respect the prisoners have for Brooks and Red's fear for Brooks. How we see him (appearance/facial expressions/camera shots etc): After Brooks' release from prison cutting between long shots and closeups is used to emphasise his isolation and loneliness. Brooks is used to show the effect of institutionalism on the inmates. When he is released after spending most of his life in prison he can see no future for himself. Before he leaves,m he frees the raven he rasied from a chick. The bird, like Brooks is illprepared to cope with freedom 10 Minor Character Profile Choose two other characters from the film and use the format above to produce a character profile for each. Choose from: Warden Norton, Captain Hadley, Tommy Williams and Heywood. 11 How are characters revealed? It is interesting to look at the idea of contrast to discover characters. Obviously we find out what a character is like through the 'normal' channels: What they say, do, what others say, physical appearance, relationships etc. We can further explore character by looking at symbolism and contrast with other characters. For example, Andy is often outdoors, in full sunshine. He wears the prisoners’ uniform of light blue and is often associated with music. All of these things reinforce the fact that he is a 'good' person, someone who belongs in wideopen spaces, not shut up in a dingy prison. Norton on the other hand is always dressed in dark colours. He is usually seen indoors in a shadowy environment and it is he who punishes Andy for playing music. Immediately we can see the contrast being set up here, the 'good' character vs the 'bad' character. It is ironic also that at the end of the film it is Andy who gains freedom and Norton who recedes in to the final darkness of death, thus the contrast that has been evident throughout is emphasised. Power The characters in the film can be divided in numerous ways: a. Prisoners vs Guards Where the guards have the legal and perceived power b. Andy vs Norton Andy has the 'real' power ie; his intellect and inner strength c. The Sisters vs Other Prisoners The sisters have physical power (in numbers) but Andy has the power to fight them mentally d. The Prisoners vs the Outside World The prisoners lose their power to fear of the unknown e. Norton/Hadley vs The Law Ironic that these characters who are perceived 'upholders' of the law are more corrupt that some prisoners A venn diagram could show the contrasts 12
