Shutter Island is a Psychological Thriller film. As the film opens, we are met with mid-to-long shots of our protagonist on a boat in what appears to be the middle of the ocean. This decodes the protagonist as a lone wolf figure, and who is on his way to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, this in itself connotes danger. He is then joined by an accomplice, who we are introduced to shortly after he joins the lone wolf. At this point we see two-shots still at mid-long range, maintaining the backdrop of open ocean. This alters our point of view, and now regard the protagonist as someone who doesn't work alone. This is then reaffirmed when we are enlightened to the fact that our protagonist is a detective. They share a conversation, in which the protagonist appears the more eloquent and mentally strong as opposed to his co-worker who conforms to the stereotype of a typical New-Yorker, accent and all. As the opening scene comes to a close, we see the same two-shot, mid-to-long range shot but from behind the duo. This shot is of a high angle, and depicts Shutter Island before them. This shot conveys the effect the island has. It belittles the characters and blows away any shred of power they have, and makes it seem as though their skills are irrelevant. The inclusion of open ocean in the shot is also interesting, as it adds to the theme of isolation which is apparent throughout the film.
Extra Notes
The way in which the director adds the Psychological "re-watch" convention is quite interesting. He makes the audience believe that the protagonist is the hero of the film, who's only motive is to find a murderer in a prison full off them. He is built up to be pure, aside from a few foul techniques. However at the very end of the film, we are told he was in fact a murderer who was set for lobotomy, as he kept regressing the memory of his crimes. This calls the audience to watch the film a second time - upon doing so they notice little hints throughout the film which when watching for the first time, seem like simple conversation, but the second time appear very obvious and clever. This gives the audience pleasure, as they feel they gain a better understanding of the film itselfAn example of this future referencing:
Leonardo is trapped in a tomb as a storm rages outside. The security then appear outside to help him back to the prison. The guard on the megaphone can be heard to say-
"Come out detective . . . we know you're in there"
No comments:
Post a Comment