I've never been to prison or had to go through any of the difficulties Andy Dufresne
has to go through in The Shawshank Redemption,
yet somehow his story has
profoundly affected me, so much so that I've watched this movie countless times.
So how come I relate to Andy's journey?
Because like Andy we've all had bad experiences and survived them.
And it's the knowing that no matter how bad it gets YOU (Andy for us) survive.
Why do we resonate with this? It's not just the "it could always be worse" factor
- it's the progress Andy makes in his journey that we enjoy. And we get to see how
in the end, after having gone through all that shit, Andy has changed for the better.
Not only that, he has also been able to hold on to his positive outlook on life.
He hasn't been embittered by his experience. He's still able to retain his sense of self.
In an interview the director and screenwriter of the film, Frank Darabont, says:
"But I think, if anything, what I respond to in movies as a viewer,
and I guess is kind of what I like to explore as a filmmaker thematically,
is the capacity in us all to achieve our potential -- how good we can be to each other
and to ourselves. How we can make life matter more? That’s why I like Capra’s work
so much. How can I be better than I am? I love that in films."
George Lucas asked the director of Shawshank to review his script for the new star wars
films. Why? Because he valued his opinion. Why? Because Shawshank has beat out his
Star Wars films in terms of popularity. Why? Because Shawshank hits home harder on the
Hell part of the story. Luke Skywalker does encounter a Hell in Ep. 4 but it's nothing
to write home about. Whereas Andy's Hell is continual, and it's something you'll never
forget, and to see him survive and still have hope is what captures our favor.
Although Shawshank was based on a short story by Stephen King it was Frank Darabont
who wrote the screenplay. Therefore it stands to reason that Lucas would want to hear
what Darabont thought of his new screenplays. For the record this is my speculation none
of the reasons "why" are discussed in the interview. [As a side note, I must say that I read Stephen King's short story
that Shawshank was based on and the film version is the only I've ever seen to really full depict
the entire story. Mr. Darabont many times used exact verbatim from King, so a lot of credit
so goes to King who brought the story and characters to us.]
So how your film will appeal universally is by having the main character go through hell
and come out better in spite of it.
And give people what they want - if they've struggled hard and far with the main character
- let them have that moment of peace at the end of the film. In essence they as much as
the character get to enjoy that moment - where they've succeeded. This is vital for the
journey we take through the character to have completed. In a trilogy this would be at
the end of the last episode.
A Shawshank fan
says "Finally, Remember the ending of the beautiful scene where they show
Red finding Andy at the beach and they hug? Did you know that shot was not originally
supposed to be in the film because it wasn't in the original King novel? The director
didn't want to shoot the scene but his associates convinced him to. Even AFTER shooting
the scene he was going to cut if from the FILM!! However, the test audience loved it
and he finally gave in and decided to leave it in the film."
Your main job as a screenwriter is to create images that take us away! The image at the end of
The Shawshank Redemption of Andy sanding a sailboat and his best friend Red
walking up the beach has been called satisfying for the audience
because we have gone through the Hell those characters experienced, we "crawled
through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side." It's not only a relief,
this image is our reward for sitting through the film.
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