In the film The Shawshank Redemption, the director, Frank Darabont uses many techniques to create meaning and emphasis regarding Andy and Red’s journey from institutionalisation to freedom. He uses a range of camera techniques, sound, theme and symbolism to convey his points to the audience. The audience sees the use of camera techniques to show that Andy is redeemed when he escapes from prison, sound to show the harshness of reality, theme to show that religion is to be interpreted, and symbolism to show that Red has an important decision to make.
The director uses camera work most effectively in the scene where Andy emerges from the sewer pipe. This is to show that he is reborn and redeemed when he leaves Shawshank. After Andy crawls out and stumbles through the river in the rain, we see a shaky, unstable close up shot on his face as he stands up and removes his shirt. The camera then pans upwards to show a high angle on him as he outstretches his arms. The instability of the close up makes this scene feel emotional and nerve-wracking, which is reflecting Andy’s own emotions.
In his facial expressions the audience sees that he has found redemption. By crawling through the sewer pipe and managing to stand on his feet, he has symbolically completed his journey to salvation. Andy is able to support himself on his own two feet. No longer does he have to rely on the prison to provide everything and be institutionalised. The high camera angle combined with his gestures further supports this idea, as the religious connotation of his outstretched arms resembles the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
In the rain, his sins and past life are being washed away. Andy is shedding the life he had in prison, reborn and vulnerable, becoming a new person. It’s as if Andy has found hope for the new life that awaits him, and he is embracing salvation. The state of mind he is in is clearly shown by Darabont in this combination of symbolism, gesture, and camera techniques. Symbolism is again used by Darabont to show that Red has an important decision to make – to hold onto the past or look to the future.
In one of the last few scenes of the film, Red makes his way through a field, walking alongside the wall where he is to find a letter with money enclosed for him. He sits against the wall and opens the letter which reads “maybe you’re willing to come a little further” and hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing”. By reading the letter, he is opening the door to potential freedom. He is giving himself the choice to cross the line from past to future. The letter is a symbol of hope, but ultimately it is up to Red to see it as a good thing as opposed to hope being a “dangerous thing” which can “drive a man insane”.
The wall also is a symbol of Red being in limbo between physical confinements within the walls of Shawshank and mental barriers of being institutionalised, as opposed having complete freedom and release from the past. The audience sees a shot of this contrast, with Red in the middle, and the wall and field on either side. We remember what Red said about hope, and how his mind-set is changing. We find ourselves desperately hoping that he will make the decision to have hope. The fact that Andy never gives up on hope and manages to escape and eventually convince Red to come along is remarkable.
The scene showing the discovery of Andy’s method of escape shows the theme of religion well. Using the imagery of the rock hammer in the bible which is opened on the start of the chapter Exodus, the director intends to convey to the audience that religion is to be interpreted differently. Instead of reading and studying the bible, Andy uses the book in a way which is not expected. He still finds salvation in the book; however it is in a more literal sense. “Salvation lies within” is very true in Andy’s case. Instead of believing in the book, he puts his faith in it that it will safely hide his rock hammer.
When Norton opens the bible to see the rock hammer outline with the title of the chapter Exodus above it, it foreshadows for the audience Red leaving prison. This scene also crucially reveals Andy’s escape method, and the irony that his tool for escape laid within exodus this whole time. This shows the audience that the only way Andy was to ever find redemption was to escape. The audience therefore is shown that religion provides salvation to those who have their own unique interpretation of what it really means. We are also left surprised because Norton’s own words are twisted to be used for Andy’s personal advantage.
This new look at interpretation causes the audience to challenge following scenes and what they really mean. The scene in which Norton commits suicide opens up many interpretations of what the consequences of his actions will cause the future to hold for Shawshank inmates. Sound is used effectively to show the audience that reality is harsh and shocking, and hits fast and unexpectedly. There is a slow, tense build-up of piano music, as the scene cuts between Norton fumbling with his gun and the police officers making their way to his office. The editing plays a part in building tension in the audience, as it is fast paced and busy.
We become concerned that Norton’s and the police officer’s realities will meet. Because of the fast paced, almost erratic editing of the switch between shots, we realise that when they do meet, it will not be good. There are diegetic sounds of Norton loading his gun, the bullets clacking together on his desk, layered with the rattling of the door handle when the officer’s try to get in. All sound cuts out for less than a second before the audience hears the sound of a gunshot and breaking glass, ending with the heavy metal gun landing on the hardwood floor.
The uncomfortable, sudden silence that interrupts the build-up in this scene makes audiences very uncomfortable, invoking tension and preparation for the worst. The severity of the gunshot piercing the silence comes as a shock to the audience, even though we knew something bad was going to happen. We are shocked back into reality, realising the importance of the scene. The sudden sharpness of the diegetic sound finalises Norton’s life, which acts as a conclusion to the scene, and in a way, the fate of the prisoners.
Throughout the film Darabont has bought together many techniques to emphasise meaning in different scenes. Camera work, sound, theme and symbolism come together to compose a meaningful film in which we see Andy and Red’s journey of redemption. The use of techniques is carefully selected to reflect their emotions, and direct the audience to what Darabont wants us to notice. In turn, this tells the audience what to think, feel, and focus on. We understand the meaning behind the story because of the techniques employed. Without them, the audience would be unable to derive meaning from the film.
