Rita Hayworth and “the Shawshank Redemption”

People say that comparing this movie and the short story is like comparing a warm chocolate chip cookie and a hot brownie. The movie follows the book closely in relation to the characters and plot but includes some significant changes. Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” tells the story of a prisoner named Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced for life for the murder of his wife and her lover. Even though Andy did not commit the crime, the evidence was not in his favor. The story chronicles his time in the Shawshank Prison is recorded by Red, his friend, as a memoir. In 1994, director Frank Darabont released a film entitled The Shawshank Redemption that adapted this novella. The major change in the movie happens with the narrative perspective. The movie changes Red’s first-person perspective because it removes Red’s bias which allows viewers to have a deeper understanding of the tragic natures of the characters and value the hope Andy brought more.

A perfect example of the narrative perspective would be the film’s expansion of Brooks character. In the story, Brooks Hatlen is a "tough old con...sixty-eight and arthritic". Brooks had been in the prison since 1909 and was the only prisoner aside from Andy Dufresne who had a college degree. He worked in the library of the prison and was respected by others. He was also the first person in the movie who showed humanity inside the cold fence of Shawshank when he asked the maggot for the crow in his pocket. Brooks was terrified of the fact that he is going out to a world that he knows nothing about and even threatens to kill Heywood, a fellow prisoner, in order to stay in prison. The final scene of Brooks begins with him leaving the Shawshank State Prison through the large black gates, with the prison officers kindly acknowledging him, and wishing him well for the future. The framing of this shot allows Brooks to walk towards the audience as we see his vacant and hopeless facial expression, signifying that he does not know where to go, even though he has just become free. The decent reputation he has in the prison was gone with the wind after he was released. Brooks is institutionalized. He constantly wakes up at night and wondering where he is. The cars on the street scare him and soon enough it became too much for him. In the novella, his final letter showed his state of mind: “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry… I don’t like it here… I’m tired of being afraid all the time … I’ve decided to not stay.” The institutionalizing of the prisoners at Shawshank takes away their hope by removing their right to make decisions. With Brooks, it took his freedom outside of the prison. News of Brooks’ suicide effects the prisoner’s desire, especially Red, to leave or escape the prison and perplexes them about their own fate, which instills fear and anxiety about the outside world. Comparing the letter to how Brooks died in the movie, the director not only adds drama to the plot but also directly sends a message to the viewer to emphasize Brooks’ helpless and uncomfortableness in the outside world, which we would not see through Red’s narrative.

Tommy is another tragic figure in the story who again emphasizes the ruthless and cruelty of Shawshank’s environment. He arrived in Shawshank on a two-year term for stealing TV sets from JC Penny. “We liked him immediately,” Red says. Tommy brought in key plot information when he reveals that someone else probably killed Andy’s wife. In the novel, Tommy is offered a deal by the Warden to be transferred to Cashman. The condition is that Tommy will not divulge the details of Andy's case anywhere which he accepted. Tommy’s life ends in a much more dramatic way in the movie. The Warden calls Tommy in the middle of the night and asks him whether what he said to Andy and Red was true. When he answers affirmative, the warden gives a signal to Captain Hadley to shoot Tommy from a tower. Four shots ring out and Tommy falls to the ground dead. Andy was thrilled about the information that someone else killed his wife and her lover; however, the warden declined his request for appeal and then informed him of Tommy’s transfer after his stint solitary.

Warden’s attitude triggers Andy’s rebellion. Andy threatens to stop helping Warden Norton with illegal transactions, but the Warden tells Andy that he would do the hardest time there is if he does so. The Warden portrays himself as a strict Christian, but he has no problem with ordering Captain Hadley to beat any inmate. The Warden believes in two things: “discipline and the Bible”, and that the prisoners will receive both. The Warden made sure that he is the “God” in the Shawshank by controlling inmates’ lives and freedom. This characteristic of him directly caused the death of Tommy. The novella instead did not mention Tommy’s death. King’s passage mainly focused on how hopeless Andy was after he lost his only chance to prove himself innocent. Director Darabont adapted the three wardens in King’s novella into one corrupt and heartless warden and exposed the darkness of humanity to the audience though the Warden and Tommy’s death. The Shawshank is dehumanizing people both mentally and physically.

Even though the director changed the narrative perspective of the movie, it is still essential to have Red serve as the film’s narrator. Voiceover narration in cinema can be an enabler for indolent and lazy writing, it lets stories tell us how a character feels instead of portraying it believable. But when used appropriately, as in The Shawshank Redemption, the effect can be brilliant. Red’s first-person voiceover in The Shawshank Redemption speaks directly to the audience. The first passage he says is “I am the guy who can get it for you,” bringing the viewer into the film. As he narrates this information, the film shows him slipping a fellow inmate some smokes establishing a friendly tone that carries through the film. Red’s words are not just convict-talk, the language is almost poetic. First-person narration allows the story to unfold smoothly as it depicts a longer passage of time and adds extra layers of observation and feeling to scenes. The narration does not tell the story, it comments on the story already being told through visuals. Darabont made the right decision in leaving part of Stephen King’s original narrative in the story because Red’s likability gathers sympathy for the other characters and Red himself was effectively affected by Andy’s positivity. Red was scared of the life outside of Shawshank and Brooks’ death concerns him more. With Red’s voice over, the audience relates themselves easily to Red’s mental journey of becoming hopeful to the future life which a crucial aspect of the movie.

First-person narration reveals the limits of individual perception. Therefore, director Darabont changed the movie into the third-person perspective and expands the characters, Brooks and Tommy, to further describe the brutal environment of Shawshank. Brooks, an inmate who has been in prison for fifty years was institutionalized by the end. His death exposes how mentally the prison dehumanizes people. Tommy, an innocent man who is killed by the Warden and the Captain for his loyalty to his friend, in the movie allows the audience to realize Shawshank is lawless. The officers and the Warden control death. However, the director kept most of Red’s narration. By doing so, it conveys important insights into the narrator’s character which is Red’s mental transformation. Andy’s positivity under the ruthless environment inspires Red and the fellow inmates and was shown thoroughly in Red’s narrative. All the changes Darabont made for the film are to better serve the theme of the movie, hope. Without realizing how cruel Shawshank is, the audience would not understand how precious Andy’s hope is.

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