Film Analysis: Shutter Island
After viewing Martin Scorseses much underrated Shutter Island for a second time I have decided to analyze both the stories twisty plot and its deep themes. If you have not seen Shutter Island and intend to then stay clear of this article as major spoilers await.
“Which would be worse…to live as a monster or die a good man?”
That is the line that made Martin Scorsese want to direct Shutter Island and is a line that took an already good film and made it great. Shutter Island is truly a tragedy of how one man cannot accept his reality, in a year where Leonardo Dicaprio played a man desperate to maintain his reality in Inception, Shutter Island is an odd companion piece to that film. Both films involve a character played by Dicaprio, wracked with guilt of the death of their wives and losing their grip on what is real and what’s not. In Shutter Island we are led to believe that Leonardo Dicaprio is playing a U.S Marshall under the name of Teddy Daniels. Daniels along with his new partner Chuck (played by Mark Ruffalo) has been sent to Shutter Island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Solando. The films big twist is that Teddy is infact a patient of the mental facility who killed his wife after she drowned their three children in the lake.
The main character conflict of Shutter Island is the tale of one man and his refusal to accept reality. Throughout the film Teddy is plagued by dreams and visions of his dead wife, as well as horrifying flashbacks to his experiences in the Second World War. This is a man who has seen horrible things and is trying to bury them away by pretending to be somebody else. Shutter Island is a film that becomes deeper on repeat viewings and seeing it a second time a lot of the subtleties of the performances and more low key clues become much more explicit and meaningful. Also on a second viewing two other conflicts emerge, conflicts that are more to do with the films historical setting rather than the character or narrative.
“There’s something going on here but nobody will talk…its like their scared of something”
Shutter Island is set in 1954; the film is infact based on a book by Dennis Lehane who said his inspiration for the book was infact his disillusion at the current state of the world. He chose a time when he believed things weren’t going well and a time where people felt similar disillusion as him. The 50’s were a time of cold war and Shutter Island has a lot of cold war paranoia escalating in the background. Infact the whole film can be looked upon as a metaphor for cold war paranoia. In one scene a woman tells Teddy Daniels that mysterious experiments are going on in the lighthouse, where the patients are being brutally transformed into super agents, agents that feel no pain or emotion. The lighthouse is a very important symbol in the film for multiple reasons. It is very telling and no coincidence that the films final image is of the ominous lighthouse. I propose the theory that the lighthouse is the very symbol of cold war paranoia in the film. Characters mention it but do not know its full power, they are fearful of it and what it could represent, they do not trust it yet they are aware of its towering and threatening presence in the distance. Could this not be an allegory for U.S feeling of the Soviet Union and the bomb during that time period?
The paranoia and journey of Teddy Daniels could also be seen as similar to Cold War feelings. He plays an American lawman who is faced with a threat he has never faced before, he is paranoid of everything around him and eventually finds out he is just as monstrous as those he is hunting. The films cold war themes become so much more evident on repeat viewings and gives the film a much deeper meaning. However it is not just the cold war paranoia of the time that the film is alluding to but also how the mentally unstable were treated.
“I have this crazy idea that if you actually treat a patient with respect you might actually get through to them”
There is another conflict brewing under the surface of Shutter Island, the conflict of how the mentally unstable should be treated. In a scene early on Dr. Cawley (Played by Ben Kingsley) remarks “We drew screws into their eyes…as if whipping them bloody would dry the psychosis out of them” the 1950’s is seen as a transition period in terms of how the insane were treated. The old school of lobotomies was being phased out by forward thinkers who quite rightly thought that putting an ice pick into somebody’s eye would not properly cure their insanity. Dr. Cawley is a character who represents this forward thinking; he is desperate to get through to Teddy by every means possible rather than a lobotomy. Infact the end of the story is both Teddy’s resignation and acceptance as much as it is Dr. Cawleys; he has also lost a personal and professional battle.
“We provide them with a sense of calm”
“These are all violent offenders…they have hurt people, murdered them in some cases”
“In almost all cases yes”
“Then personally doctor I say screw their sense of calm”
Throughout the film Dr. Cawley is keen to remind Daniels that he is looking for a patient not a prisoner. In one scene Dr. Cawley has an argument with the Max von Sydow character over how to properly hold the patients in their cells. It is clear that Cawley is a lone voice amongst his professionals, fighting for better treatment of his patients. Of course nowadays lobotomies are a thing of the past but back then there was a battle over whether they right or wrong.
“You’ll never leave this island”
Whether it be the central character tragedy, the cold war symbolism and allegory or the medical conflict, Shutter Island is a multi layered and deep film. It gets more rewarding on repeat viewings and is one of 2010s finest films. The purpose of this article was to look deeper into the films dialogue, symbolism and characters to provide deeper conflicts and themes hidden within in the story. If you have seen Shutter Island then I would appreciate your comments in the your say section about what you think of my observations and what you thought of the film. Thank you for reading and wonder…which would be worse, to live as a monster or die a good man?
By Michael Dalton
“Which would be worse…to live as a monster or die a good man?”
That is the line that made Martin Scorsese want to direct Shutter Island and is a line that took an already good film and made it great. Shutter Island is truly a tragedy of how one man cannot accept his reality, in a year where Leonardo Dicaprio played a man desperate to maintain his reality in Inception, Shutter Island is an odd companion piece to that film. Both films involve a character played by Dicaprio, wracked with guilt of the death of their wives and losing their grip on what is real and what’s not. In Shutter Island we are led to believe that Leonardo Dicaprio is playing a U.S Marshall under the name of Teddy Daniels. Daniels along with his new partner Chuck (played by Mark Ruffalo) has been sent to Shutter Island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Solando. The films big twist is that Teddy is infact a patient of the mental facility who killed his wife after she drowned their three children in the lake.
The main character conflict of Shutter Island is the tale of one man and his refusal to accept reality. Throughout the film Teddy is plagued by dreams and visions of his dead wife, as well as horrifying flashbacks to his experiences in the Second World War. This is a man who has seen horrible things and is trying to bury them away by pretending to be somebody else. Shutter Island is a film that becomes deeper on repeat viewings and seeing it a second time a lot of the subtleties of the performances and more low key clues become much more explicit and meaningful. Also on a second viewing two other conflicts emerge, conflicts that are more to do with the films historical setting rather than the character or narrative.
“There’s something going on here but nobody will talk…its like their scared of something”
Shutter Island is set in 1954; the film is infact based on a book by Dennis Lehane who said his inspiration for the book was infact his disillusion at the current state of the world. He chose a time when he believed things weren’t going well and a time where people felt similar disillusion as him. The 50’s were a time of cold war and Shutter Island has a lot of cold war paranoia escalating in the background. Infact the whole film can be looked upon as a metaphor for cold war paranoia. In one scene a woman tells Teddy Daniels that mysterious experiments are going on in the lighthouse, where the patients are being brutally transformed into super agents, agents that feel no pain or emotion. The lighthouse is a very important symbol in the film for multiple reasons. It is very telling and no coincidence that the films final image is of the ominous lighthouse. I propose the theory that the lighthouse is the very symbol of cold war paranoia in the film. Characters mention it but do not know its full power, they are fearful of it and what it could represent, they do not trust it yet they are aware of its towering and threatening presence in the distance. Could this not be an allegory for U.S feeling of the Soviet Union and the bomb during that time period?
The paranoia and journey of Teddy Daniels could also be seen as similar to Cold War feelings. He plays an American lawman who is faced with a threat he has never faced before, he is paranoid of everything around him and eventually finds out he is just as monstrous as those he is hunting. The films cold war themes become so much more evident on repeat viewings and gives the film a much deeper meaning. However it is not just the cold war paranoia of the time that the film is alluding to but also how the mentally unstable were treated.
“I have this crazy idea that if you actually treat a patient with respect you might actually get through to them”
There is another conflict brewing under the surface of Shutter Island, the conflict of how the mentally unstable should be treated. In a scene early on Dr. Cawley (Played by Ben Kingsley) remarks “We drew screws into their eyes…as if whipping them bloody would dry the psychosis out of them” the 1950’s is seen as a transition period in terms of how the insane were treated. The old school of lobotomies was being phased out by forward thinkers who quite rightly thought that putting an ice pick into somebody’s eye would not properly cure their insanity. Dr. Cawley is a character who represents this forward thinking; he is desperate to get through to Teddy by every means possible rather than a lobotomy. Infact the end of the story is both Teddy’s resignation and acceptance as much as it is Dr. Cawleys; he has also lost a personal and professional battle.
“We provide them with a sense of calm”
“These are all violent offenders…they have hurt people, murdered them in some cases”
“In almost all cases yes”
“Then personally doctor I say screw their sense of calm”
Throughout the film Dr. Cawley is keen to remind Daniels that he is looking for a patient not a prisoner. In one scene Dr. Cawley has an argument with the Max von Sydow character over how to properly hold the patients in their cells. It is clear that Cawley is a lone voice amongst his professionals, fighting for better treatment of his patients. Of course nowadays lobotomies are a thing of the past but back then there was a battle over whether they right or wrong.
“You’ll never leave this island”
Whether it be the central character tragedy, the cold war symbolism and allegory or the medical conflict, Shutter Island is a multi layered and deep film. It gets more rewarding on repeat viewings and is one of 2010s finest films. The purpose of this article was to look deeper into the films dialogue, symbolism and characters to provide deeper conflicts and themes hidden within in the story. If you have seen Shutter Island then I would appreciate your comments in the your say section about what you think of my observations and what you thought of the film. Thank you for reading and wonder…which would be worse, to live as a monster or die a good man?
By Michael Dalton
