Shutter Island - Martin Scorsese

The final scene of Shutter Island has been thoroughly debated by film critics and psychological thriller enthusiasts and yet there is still no firm answer to the big question this sequence poses: why would Teddy willingly go to receive a lobotomy?

Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 2010 is a meticulously constructed psychological thriller that creates a mind-bending experience for the audience. The plot centres around Teddy Daniels, a US Marshall, and his partner, Chuck, who are investigating a disappearance at a hospital for the criminally insane. However, we quickly learn that everything is not as it seems and that Teddy himself is actually a patient of the hospital, but has created a fictional world for himself so that he does not have to constantly relive the guilt he feels at murdering his wife after she killed their children.

Guilt was an important theme in Triangle – we saw how guilty Jess felt at how she had been treating her autistic son in the final scene and what the repercussions of this were – and it is even more evident in Shutter Island. Teddy feels guilty because he knew that is wife was having mental issues but because of his own problems with alcohol and post-traumatic stress, he did not do anything about it. We see the extent of this guilt in the final scene of the film. Teddy feels so unable to escape from his pain that he goes to get a lobotomy of his own free will, saying; “Which would be worse? To live as a monster? Or to die as a free man?” Many have questioned this line of the ending sequence, believing that Teddy really has reverted back to his fictional world. However, I believe Teddy has accepted the fact that he is a patient of the hospital but does not wish to accept this painful reality and wants to shut it all out by receiving a lobotomy. Despite his traumas, he is an intelligent man and recognises that those around him are assessing his condition. However, as mentioned in the previous post, this moment does make us question the rest of the film – an extremely important aspect of the psychological thriller genre.

The lack of underscoring in Shutter Island creates an interesting dynamic and makes it completely different from Triangle. We hear only the diegetic sound effects of birds in the background and grass being cut, creating a disconcerting atmosphere of tranquillity. The silence is rather eerie and makes the audience hold on to every word Teddy is saying. There is no dialogue at all as Teddy walks towards his fate yet this moment manages to completely capture the audience’s attention. Another interesting aspect of this moment is the mise-en-scene. Teddy walks away from the dark, grim looking buildings towards the bright, green, pleasant looking grounds. “Colour profoundly affects our experience and understanding of a film shot” (Corrigan and White, 114) and “contrasting balances…can create dramatic oppositions and tensions through colour.” (Corrigan and White, 116)The contrast in this scene is deceiving because it deludes the audience into believing Teddy is moving towards a better life when in fact he is about to be lobotomised.

 Like in Triangle the ending sequence of Shutter Island is extremely important in making the audience question the rest of the film and also wrap their minds around the events that have already happened. Future blog entries will continue to discuss some more of the common themes of psychological thrillers, such as guilt, the mind and reality.