The Shawshank Redemption: Character Analysis

Analyse how One main character or individual changed to become more (or less) admirable. The courageous film “The Shawshank Redemption”, directed by Frank Darabont is a film that brings admiration to the characters. Andy becomes more admirable throughout the film. This is shown through dialogue, camera shots and angles and lighting. Voice over is used right the way through to the end of the film by Red and this helps the audience feel like they are with the film on this journey to Andy finding his freedom and voice.

Low angle shots and high angled shot are used to portray the characters vulnerability and power.

Lighting in this film is very little and simple, but tell a lot about the setting. The main colour used throughout this film is grey, showing the darkness and dullness of the prison inside and out. The obstacles that Andy faces and the way he believes that he can get out to the Shawshank prison is something to admire more and more as the film goes on.

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Tim Robbins who plays the innocent man, Andy Dufresne in the film is the character that I admired. I felt that Andy grew throughout the film; he showed bravery and took more risks with things while he was in Shawshank prison.

Andy believed that there was still hope in getting out. He never lost hope that one day he would escape from there. Andy’s best friend Red, whom he met at Shawshank prison, once said that “I must admit I didn’t think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over.

That was my first impression of the man. ” The first time Red saw Andy Dufresne, he thought Andy looked weak and thin because even a breeze could blow the man over, but Red learns later on in the film that Andy is actually not as weak as he thought.

Andy grows into someone that shows courage and becomes someone that his friends in the prison admire and go to when they need someone Andy did have his low points in Shawshank prison, when he was put in the hole for one month. When his time was over there was a high camera shot of Andy showing that he was vulnerable and weak. This is when he wanted to make a change, a difference. Andy decides to help Brookes out at the library. He wants to expand the library and gets new book so Andy writes letters out to get free second hand books and finally achieves over many years of writing out letters.

There is a low camera shot of Andy now when he has finally achieved his goal of expanding the library and getting new books in. We can see now that Andy is striving for the things that he wants and becomes more admirable to the men in the prison and even getting on the good side with the prison guards. Andy even helps out a new prisoner named Tommy. Andy became very closely familiar with a Tommy, who on the outside was a husband and a father, but known to the people around town as being nothing more than a thief and an annoyance. Andy helped him in finally achieving his lifelong goal of receiving his High school Diploma.

Tommy unfortunately was killed because he decided his voice needed to be heard. He was willing to help Andy show his innocence. He admired Andy and that was what made him strive to do what was right, but got him killed. This film had very simple lighting like grey and blue. Grey was used a lot to show that the prison was very dull and dark. In the prison everything was grey like the uniform, the walls and the inside each cell was pretty grey. The colours that were in this film were cold colours, colours that would give you chills and colours that showed how cold the warden was towards Andy during this film.

It showed the audience what Andy felt like he was going through. He felt guilty about his relationship with his wife because he once said to Red, “She was beautiful. God I loved her. I just didn’t know how to show it, that’s all. I killed her, Red. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I pushed her away. And that’s why she died, because of me. ” Andy felt that his wife’s death was all of his fault. At this time, Andy was at his lowest point in life; he was going through a very tough and dark time. Lighting showed this when he was sitting in his cell alone and there was only one light shining into his cell from outside, that was the lightning.

This showed that in this dark moment in Andy’s life he could still find the bright side, and he did. He escaped. After that moment Andy was admired a lot by Red, hope will always shine through in the end and Red soon believed that hope existed. Andy had been a huge admiration to all the men that he was around in Shawshank prison and has made a huge difference. This was shown through dialogue, camera shots and angles, and lighting. These all showed Andy changing into a strong and powerful man and becoming more and more admirable as the film played on.