The films Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are both directed by Frank Darabont and both films are made on the basis of Stephen King novels. Both ARE set in prisons, the former in 1935 and the latter in 1947. Darabont is known for directing thriller/horror films, but his best films were the more drama filled films that had more emotional depth to them. His love for making thriller/horror films could likely be from his childhood, when he watched “The George Lucas film THX 1138 in his youth” which inspired him to pursue his directing career. Shawshank Redemption was based in the general block of a prison. A man is incarcerated because the judge said he was guilty of killing his wife and lover in an act of passion, with the narration being done by a fellow prisoner. The Green Mile however was based in the 1930’s and is about a man being put on death row for the murder of two little girls, but as the film develops, audiences are left in tears as they watch the whole story unfold. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, due to the emotional resonance it left behind.
The elements I am looking at are costume and setting, Darabont could use similar costumes due to the fact that his wife Karyn Wagner is a costume designer who also designed the costumes for his film The Green Mile. He was possibly very interested in prisons as a setting because he grew up in a refugee camp, this is likely to be the reason why these two films were his best ones. This then enabled him to put his personal views and experiences into a film, creating that emotional aspect the audience needs to really engage with the film and truly feel compassion.
The use of costume is important in both The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption , especially in the “Like pieces of glass in my head” and “Rehabilitated?” scenes as it gives critical information to the viewers, if looked at in more depth. The difference in costumes allows the audience to understand the two character types between Red and John. The style also shows the difference in story lines of the two films. The “Like pieces of glass in my head” scene in The Green Mile contains emotional instrumental music in the background and the symbolic costume of a “dead man”. The innocent convict John Coffey is on death row so he doesn’t have the same costume compared to all the other inmates, where they wear a black and white striped outfits. But In this scene John is wearing a white shirt and blue overalls showing he is different. The guard is asking him if he should let him go or not as he and the audience know John is innocent. So John’s costume helps portray this innocence because it reminds the audience of an outfit a child has, just like a young child this man is also very innocent. So by comparing this you learn that his character is childlike with an innocent mind. The director Frank Darabont also strengthens the concept he wants the audience to envision by having John Coffey wear a strategically cut off shirt that enhances his muscular upper body. This allows the audience to get the perception that he is a big gentle giant. The director cleverly uses colour to subliminally get the audience to think a certain way. That is, John wears a white shirt which contrasts against his dark skin emphasising the purity of the colour white. The audience is able to see the depth of his innocence due to the colour that the director chose. The significance of white is important to establish that John is possibly a messenger from God, angelic and again we can see why the guard is questioning whether to let him free or not. The overall purpose of the costume Darabont uses in The Green Mile was to emphasise his innocence and make the audience realise that you shouldn’t judge people on face value, just like John Coffey who was wrongfully accused of a crime he didn’t commit just because he was black. This is a lesson that the audience can see, and should be emphasised in the media, given all the racially motivated crime we see, particularly in America.
In Shawshank Redemption in the “Rehabilitated?” scene Red is being looked at by the parole board to see if he is eligible to leave prison. The board members are wearing suits meaning they are higher up and more powerful over Red’s verdict. All the men that make up the parole board are wearing the same colour suits and ties. The director is wanting the audience to make the assumption that Red is insignificant and the parole board hold all the power. Darabont has purposely dressed the male members of the board all the same to maximise the sense of isolation, that is the board members against the one man. The audience can see how a costume can make a person’s confidence change because Red’s costume is jeans with a grey shirt and a number printed on it. This strips their identity from prisoners as they are now known as a number and not a human, he is the weakest in the room. The prisoners in this film also have to wear identical clothing showing they have no freedom or individuality. When compared like this you can see the difference in both films as John is given a chance to leave prison whereas Red has to get permission as it is up to the council whether he is discharged or not. Red’s prison uniform includes braces which immediately transport the audience back to another era. Darabont uses the braces to symbolise the character’s age. As an older man the wearing of braces was considered appropriate for his age group. The audience can see the difference between prisons over 60 years ago in what inmates wear, compared to present time where a set of braces would be considered as a potential weapon. The overall purpose of the costume Darabont uses in Shawshank Redemption is used to symbolise how costume can deceive an audience by encouraging them to have incorrect perceptions on a character just by the smart use of formal outfits in direct contrast to Red’s faded blue numbered shirt and prison trousers. So the costume is used to show difference in power between the parole board and Red due to the negative connotation of the use of Red’s denim jacket which is seen as cheap compared to the strong and expensive outfit that the parole board is wearing.
The setting is important in both The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption, although both are set in prison both have very different prison environments. This can be seen in the “Like pieces of glass in my head” and “Rehabilitated?” scenes as it gives critical information to the viewers, if looked at in more depth. The difference in settings allows the audience to understand the two character types between Red and John. In The Green Mile John is on death row, living in a one man cell while he awaits his punishment. In the “Like pieces of glass in my head” scene John Coffey is sitting in his cell having a conversation with the guard about whether he should let him go free or not, because everyone including the audience are aware of his innocence. Darabont use strategic lighting to enlist an emotive response from the audience. To do this he uses suspended lighting creating a subdued filtered effect from above that encourages the audience to come to the conclusion that John Coffey is surely innocent: “when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles” indicating that John is one of God’s miracles. He also uses lighting directly positioned on John Coffey’s torso, this creates the illusion that he is larger than life, again bringing in that godly sense. It also highlights his skin colour against the pure white of his shirt, this then sends a subliminal message to the audience that John was judged on his skin colour and his goodness and purity was overlooked. The use of subtle lighting to show detail of the setting is kept to a minimum. The purpose of this is to show isolation of the prisoners, this is done by minimising the illumination of the brick walls that confine John. Darabont has effectively gained the audience’s sympathy by making the prison cell have a cold, dark and depressing feel about it. To maximise this response he draws the audience’s attention to John Coffey’s torso by clever lighting to exaggerate his size which in turn shrinks the size of the cell that contains him. The main purpose that Darabont is trying to get across to the audience is that all good things come to an end, as John is shown as a man bigger than life and the audience grows an attachment to him which is then ripped away as happy endings sadly don’t exist.
Shawshank Redemption in the “Rehabilitated?” scene shows that Red is still in the prison but for this particular scene the setting is a large room located higher up in the jail for his hearing with the parole board. The director only utilises natural light which is filtered through the venetian blinds which is reflected on his shirt. Darabont is using this shadow of the blinds to symbolise the bars of Red’s cell showing there is no escape. He is also using this ray of light to represent that freedom is within reachable distance if the parole board approves his release as the ‘bars’ are simply shadows. The audience can learn from this that if you want something badly enough, and even though it seems impossible, don’t give up on your goals because they may be easier to attain than you originally thought possible. Having the members of the parole board facing away from the light source creates the illusion that they are bricks behind a table. Darabont wants to remove any emotional resonance. He wants them to appear cold and emotionally distant. They don’t want to have any compassion or empathy with the inmates. It is only a duty they are performing as government representatives. To exaggerate this even more they are around a table and he is on a chair giving the perception that they are powerful and he is the weakest link. Their chairs are also of a higher quality whereas Red’s chair is of an inferior quality which symbolises he is worthless. The director has purposely placed jugs of water and individual glasses in front of the parole board members to show exclusion from basic necessities. The purpose of this scene that the director is trying to show is that if you commit a crime but try to redeem yourself by doing good works, eventually it will pay off in a positive way.
The director Frank Darabont cleverly made the two scenes “Like pieces of glass in my head” and “Rehabilitated?” Even though different from each other they still have the link of prison bars through the use of symbolism. In Shawshank Redemption strategically placed Venetian blinds create an illusion of prison bars across the shirt Red is wearing. Whereas in The Green Mile actual prison bars surround John Coffey. It is of no surprise that the director Frank Darabont could create two films utilising the setting of a prison. His depth of understanding from time spent in a refugee camp brought gritty realism which makes me and the audience appreciate him even more as a director. The realism he portrays in both movies showing a rawness of emotion due to the overwhelming sense of defeat both inmates feel. When comparing the two excerpts you can see the difference of what both characters want. For instance in Shawshank Redemption Red wants to re enter society again whereas John would rather leave this world behind. Both characters are similar in that the fates are chosen not by them but by the government officials. When linking the costumes and settings of the two films together you see how isolating prisons can be on a person and how this can bring out the true nature of a person represented by the clothing they wear. Giving the audience a better understanding that racism has never died but has softened over the years. The overall intention of the director is so the audience can learn that just because you have made some bad decisions in life that doesn’t mean you are a bad person. So it shouldn’t define who you are.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Darabont
https://prezi.com/m/jbmus5p4pkud/close-reading-films/
film- The Green Mile
film- Shawshank Redemption
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