The Shawshank Redemption

The Next Three Days and The Shawshank Redemption are two dark films that deal with prison and prison escape. They follow men and women in and out of prison and tread the lines between innocence and guilt. John Brennan in The Next Three Days is desperately trying to free his wife from prison. Andrew "Andy" Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption is desperately trying not to lose his mind and spirit in prison. The wife in The Next Three Days goes thorough a similar ordeal in prison as Andy and his prison friend Red, although her movie doesn’t go anywhere near as in-depth in prison and her sentence ends up being much shorter. Both films deal with normal people in deeply rough times as they go through spirit-crushing experiences.

Isolation is a large theme in the films. The characters don’t have that many people who they can depend on. The movies’ heroes are ones who we root for because they are sympathetic and have to survive the worst of this world’s challenges by themselves. The Shawshank Redemption is longer so there is more time for dense character development. It also delves farther into what prison-life is like. I believe that is something that The Next Three Days could’ve benefited from. We would’ve rooted more for Lara, John’s wife, if we had known more about what she went through exactly. Both Andy and John endure intense bodily harm, but ironically Andy is the one who doesn’t respond with much violence even though he is inside prison walls and John isn’t. Andy uses his wit to find ways to solve his problems all by himself. John, without using anyone to consult solves his own problem. He gets money by killing instead of being overly creative. You’d think he would figure another way because he is a college professor, but desperate people can do desperate things.

Both movies are compelling at times, but I constantly found myself more compelled with The Shawshank Redemption because of the clever storytelling and unusual characters. Both are definitely comparable because of the settings and the desperate situations. There are also prison escapes in both. Hope, victimization and time running out are the three most memorable themes I believe that the films have in common. The prison system and its faults, just like many things, are rough facts of life that art will continue to imitate. It’s a good thing it will because it always keeps films grounded in the tough truths of humanity.