Shutter Island, A Meaningful Film for Study.

I have chosen the film Shutter Island as a meaningful film for study. The film revolves around a man named Teddy who visits an institute for the criminally insane to find a missing patient, however as the film goes on you start too doubt the real reasons why he has been sent to the island. Many complex issues are uncovered and he is told that he has actually been a patient at the institute for 2 years and him being a Marshall was just a fantasy created in his head. The film ends with him being walked off to be lobotomised. The film leaves you confused as too what was the truth, whether he actually was a Marshall and the doctors were lying too him or if he was actually a patient as they said. The film is much more complex and detailed than the brief summary I just made but I cannot go into the detail as this is only a short review.

 I would class this film as psychological thriller, I think it is worthy of being studied as it is a very complex film and is a shining example of what all thrillers should be. You simply cannot look away from the screen because missing any single conversation in the film could cause you too not understand what is going on. The film being set on an isolated island for the insane immediately sets the mystery associated with thrillers, and the film has more plot twists than nearly any other I have seen giving much too study.

The films themes are hide too define, it touches on the theme of identity because we are unsure about whom the character actually is, but it also has a strong deceit orientated theme as you don’t know who too trust at the end of the film. The main character “Teddy” could have been deceiving us all film or the doctors could have been deceiving him. If “Teddy’s” theory was correct then the government were also deceiving inmates and the public about what happens on certain areas of the island. Any of these themes can be explored in extensive detail, making it a good film to study.

The characters are very effective as it is much more complex than too just have “good character/s” and “bad character/s”. Due to the storyline we do not know who to trust or which side is actually working for good. The doctors appear to be creepy and shady throughout the film but if their version of events that teddy is actually a patient are true then you can understand why they refused to give him access to the patients records etc. Making an action that caused you to dislike them earlier in the film seems perfectly logical. The same goes for Teddy, we support him throughout the film as we see everything from his perspective but even when we do believe he is a Marshall some of his actions are questionable such as when he severely beats an inmate that attacks him.

In conclusion I feel the general complexity of this film would make it very good to study, it ticks all of the correct boxes of what is required by a thriller but also gives so many possible areas to study. I would recommend the film to anybody but would recommend you watch it on your own as it is easy to get lost as to what is happening.