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SHUTTER ISLAND OPENING SCENE/ SET UP

1.      The setting in Shutter Island is presented to us as a dark, dangerous and an almost abandoned location. The fact that the island is shown to be surrounded by endless miles of ocean shows to us that perhaps it has purposely been put in the middle of nowhere as it hosts potential dangers to society and civilisation. The use of the thick and dark clouds surrounding the island is also effective as it helps to instantly create a very creepy and eary atmosphere and gives the impression that evil lurks on the island and there is no hope for the protagonists, this point is further backed up by the non harmonious music which gets more dramatic the closer they get to the island, possibly hinting that with every step closer they get to the island, tension in the film is increasing dramatically.

2.      One character which the set up reveals a huge amount of information about is Teddy. Teddy is shown to have this huge fear of water, which not only immediately gets the audience on his side as he is portrayed as a victim, but also raises questions in the audience’s heads about his mental sanity. The metal chains which are shown in a mid framed shot with Teddy also posses negative connotations towards Teddy and foreshadows later events which will take place and effect Teddy negatively. Overall, the set up presents Teddy as a very complex character, as he isn’t presented as your typical hero and has lots of negative connotations such as the fear of water which raises the question to the audience as to whether or not this man has something to hide.

3.      One relationship between characters shown is that between Teddy and his former wife. We see this through parallel editing crossovers from Teddy’s life now (which is shown as being very grey and bleak) and life with his wife which is presented as being very colourful and bright, making the audience question what happened to her which ended up putting Teddy in the situation that he is in now. We are also informed that Teddy is Chucks boss and Chuck is his assistant but the validity of this relationship is questioned when Chuck does not know how to hand over his gun properly raising the question that he could be an imposter with an unknown motive which creates confusion within the audience.

4.      The world is instantly presented to us as bleak and dangerous. We can see the bleakness expressed through the dark and gloomy weather and the danger is shown to us on the island with the close up shots of the barbed wire and the long shots of some large half demolished buildings which appear to have been deserted, and the fact that they are forced to hand over their weapons as soon as they enter the mental institution. All of these features have strong connotations of danger and conflict and make it appear as almost an inevitability that Teddy will encounter danger during his stay on the island.

5.      One obvious strain shown to us in the set up is Teddy’s huge fear of water. This is a hugely important factor in the film as it’s the only thing that Teddy remembers about killing his wife, but he doesn’t know why he has such a feeling of dread around water at this stage in the film whilst everyone around him does. Another strain shown in the set up is a lot more subtle and that strain is between Teddy and the officers on the island, Teddy asks the head officer that his men seem on edge and he replies that ‘we all our’, which is significant as unknown to Teddy and the audience at this stage Teddy murdered his wife by drowning her and now whilst Teddy is still armed they have to drive him to the institution knowing of his mental insanity, therefore presenting us with a strain that remains unknown to the audience at this stage of the film.

6.      The film opening seen within Shutter Island is very typical of a thriller film as it instantly starts with non harmonious music creating tension and showing us it’s a thriller and also leaves many complex questions in the audience’s heads which remain unanswered such as why is Teddy’s fear of water so great? Or how come Chuck is a detective but doesn’t know how to handle a gun? There is also the use of the red herring involving a woman on the island who has gone missing which is also typical of a thriller film as it creates confusion within the audience. One final thriller convention used in the set up is that of a deadline, a storm is coming so they have to rush of the boat quickly, deadlines help to create excitement and build up suspense.