Analysis of Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a mysterious enigmatic thriller set in the 1950’s based on Dennis Lenane’s novel Shutter Island, which was already a celebrated book, meaning that there was already a fan base and audience appeal for the film before it was even in theatres. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams. Before we see anything we hear a subtle piece of orchestra music whilst the credits are being displayed. The slow high pitched ominous sounds sets the atmosphere for what we are about to see, creating tension for the audience and a feeling that bad things are to come.  The opening scene has a long shot of the sea along with the dull and gloomy colours of the shot it all sets an atmosphere of uneasiness and mystery and foreshadows to what is to come in the rest film.

The first we see of a character is our main character Teddy, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is looking pale and distressed and appears to have sea sickness. When he stands up we see that he is a police officer as a result of his badge and gun on his belt these two simple objects create a sense of power and authority however this is contrasted with the idea that he seems seriously stressed and nervous about something (maybe alluding to a fear of water, making the audience wonder why he’s on a boat if he get sea sick or is scared of water showing that he may have to be on the boat and that he has no choice. We also see that he may be married as he seems to have a wedding ring on his hand. We then see a close up if DiCaprio’s characters face where we really get to see the panic in his eyes as he is looking right into the camera, seeming almost breaking the forth wall, making the audience feel uneasy and wonder why this character looks so troubled and unhappy.

We see DiCaprio on the top deck approach another man, who is similarly dressed to Teddy showing that he is also involved with the police. Then we are introduced to thing character who refers to Teddy as ‘boss’ and we find that he is his partner (however they have only just met) and that Teddy is above him. During this dialogue we the camera angles are on the actor’s eye line which makes the audience connect to the characters and relate to them.

Then when he is asked if he had a wife we are transported into a flashback which we can see from the significant colour change, which is brighter and the lighting is a higher key compared to the original low key lighting in ‘present’ day. Teddy is seen as younger and less stressed while he and his wife playfully put on a tie together outwardly expressing their love for each other. Then there is a quick flash to the water on the boat and the quickly back to his wife which also suggests that she drowned and makes you wonder if that’s why he doesn’t like water. We then are back to present day and they continue their conversation about the island they are going to.

Overall in this opening we see a variety of different techniques used to portray a sence of gloom and confusion brilliantly setting the tone for the rest of the film.