Spoiler Review - Shutter Island

The film Shutter Island is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, and is directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a crime/psychological thriller and mystery. Throughout the film it constantly hints at clues then just as you think you have figured out the mystery the storyline takes a U-turn and furthermore adds to the suspense.

 
 

The film stars Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) who are US Marshalls they go to a prison for the declared criminally mentally insane. The man in charge of the care of the prison patients is Dr. Crawley (Ben Kingsley) and at the end of the film the question you are left with is whether his character is good or evil? 

 

The purpose of their journey to the prison is to investigate a missing woman named Rachel Solando. The mystery of the film is brilliant, even up to the last scene of the film you are still very unsure of the full truth. Is the protagonist Teddy Daniels or Andrew Laeddis?Is he insane or a victim of the corruption the prison is operating through? 

 
The first mystery that’s sets the tone of the film is the riddle believed to be left by Rachel Solando, the escaped prisoner, the rule of 4 who is 67? Indicating there is an unknown 67th patient at the prison.

 The overall head of the ‘psychiatric hospital’ is Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow), who is a mystery as a character, he has a reserved but strange personality. Everyone except Teddy Daniels has no real back-story or any revealing of their past in the whole story, which adds a lot to the suspense of the film, just thorough the plot. Many flashbacks are featured through out Teddy Daniels life, especially with his wife, kids and WW2 when fighting against Germany along with the discovery of the persecution of Jews.

The story is a real mind bender when introduced into both the possible Rachel’s and when she suddenly returns to the prison untouched by the harsh weather. The flashbacks of his wife and children create an illusion still not answered of whether he killed his wife due to her killing the children, or whether the children and mother all died in a fire, set by a man named Andrew Laeddis. 

A very convincing portrayal of characters by all the actors in the film added with the amazingly mind-twisting storyline is what really makes the film a success.

 
Additionally the ability to still have so many unanswered questions by the end of the story is quite brilliant. Are Teddy Daniels and Andrew Laeddis the same person? Is he really a patient in the prison? Is Rachel Solando real?   


 
Who is the 67th inmate at the prison? The most important question left unanswered though: Is Teddy Daniels living in a fantasy world or is this reality?

The only guarantee is his lobotomy he will undergo. to sum up the film in one line I quote Di Caprio’s character when he says “Which would be worse, to live as a monster, or die as a good man?

The film created a lot of mystery and suspense, some of it still unanswered and overall a very mind-twistingly confusing film that still managed to entertain and fascinate as a thriller, so for that I give it a rating of 5/5.

Link to Audience expectations of a thriller

https://bubbl.us/?h=119525/213f59/11aWrOP5OQu/g

Thriller Film Setting Picture

This is the picture have I taken of the priory centre car park in Dartford, in which I chose as a suitable setting for a thriller film. I have done this task to properly understand what a thriller film setting would look like. I have chosen this car park as it's quite deserted with only a few cars, giving mystery and the lighting is also good only providing limited light reflecting a typical mood of a scene in a thriller. Also the car park can realisticly tie in with the common large city setting thriller films seem to often have.

Genre Iconography Mood Board

This is the thriller iconography collage I created of pictures that best show and define what a thriller film is.  All pictures come under a category of:                                    

·         Props & set design

·         Locations & Settings

·         Lighting & Colours

·         Characters

·         Typical Scenes

 
The reason why I have done this task is to be able to fully recognize the characteristics of a thriller,
which will help us later when we make our own 2 minute thriller opening.

Regarding props and set design a common theme was the use of guns along with a dark setting. This is because of the guns adding to the mystery of thrillers - will the character get shot or escape? Also there are a lot of crime thrillers made which guns are a major prop used. The dark set design involved in thrillers are a representation of the mood represented in a scene of a thriller film.Generally some form of weapon whether it be the mind, a gun or fists tends to be used.

Looking at locations and settings, thrillers seem to often be set in busy metropolitan cities, and around the adult world, (children rarely play a huge part in a thriller). Settings can be broad when referring to a thriller taking place, but they have to be linked in with the busy city it is set in. For example a car park can be used for a thriller, but the woods cannot, as they are not find in cities.

Lighting and colours used in thrillers seem to be dark and if light is used it it to highlight the characters facial expression, show emotion/mood or to draw attention to something significant in the film. Light colours are also used to highlight appearance like scars. Depending on whether a mystery is to be revealed or not either light or dark colour will be used for the scene.

From the collage I created above various thrillers seem to have common characters. A protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) are always involved with some conflict and especially in psychological thrillers a mentally unstable character is involved. Although saying this, thrillers seem to have a character that has some form of crazy characteristic about themselves, (for example a hitman who has no remorse in a crime thriller).

Through evidence gathered from the thriller collage, typical scenes in thrillers are suspenseful and mysterious, fast paced action whether it be physical or mental is also involved.

AS Media Studies Mark Scheme

The class were given a task of remembering the work that had to be done and when it the deadline for it was, then three of us wrote in on the board and also put how much each task was worth. This way all of us are informed on how much marks are awarded for each task, the deadlines for them and what the task requires us to do.

Alien3 Title Sequence Credits Timeline

Throughout the Alien3 title sequence a black background is used with tension building music and no acting is incorporated within the opening credits. The only things that give an insight into the film is the dark black background which creates a mood of darkness and evil. Along with this, the tension building music sets the pace the film is to follow. The reason why I have done a title sequence timeline is to get an accurate estimate of how many individual people are credited in a film at the start, and how long it takes for this to happen. Additionally the techniques film makers use to keep the audiences interest whilst showing the title sequence. Also doing this task has shown me who are the most important figures when it comes to all those involved with the film; for example the first credit the film opens with is the studio, who made the film possible to be released and produced. Another thing learned through this task is how it is important to credit the studio company, cast and crew members in a film as it is a legal requirement that if not followed can result in consequences such as being sued.

Thriller Mindmap

All the class compiled a mind map of what is expected in a thriller whether it be themes, storyline, mood or atmosphere, all students contributed to this and it helped me to have more of a grasp of what makes a thriller.

Title sequence timeline - Alien3

0.27

0.33

0.39

0.46

0.55

1.03

1.12

1.18

1.24

1.29

1.35

1.43

1.49

1.55

2.05

2.13

2.20

2.26

2.32

2.40

2.45

2.51

3.04

3.10

3.16

3.23

3.29

3.36

David Owootomo and Toby Gearing - We have both compiled a list of individual credits of the various crew members and the studio that have been credited in the opening title sequence. Whilst getting all the credits of the various members and studio who have been involved in Alien3, the specific order of names being shown is significant. The studio, then production company mentioned first, then the actors and film name and following this the crew members. It could be interpreted that the studio who comes first in the credits and basically own rights to the film are the ones in control of the opening credits, and the order choice used could relates to the importance of the crew in relevance to the audience. It cannot be said that the title sequence order of the crew members relates to the contribution they had to the film. I say this due to the director being listed last on the credits, who effectively was the main one to make the film but is listed last, and the actors are listed first who may not have contributed as much to the making of the film.

Warrior Stills with Annotations Toby and David

 The saying "the city that never sleeps" may be associated with this shot as many people incorporated with gangs are still up late at night having discussions. DO

  This shot shows a theme in the font and title sequence of bloody violence, with the font dripping like blood. The font is also on top of the backdrop of the train which suggests that violence never leaves Brooklyn. TG

 This last shot shows that there is a variety of gangs with there own unique uniforms, which in this still is very comical, but retain there motivation of violence. DO

  Many slides in the opening sequence group actors names together, perhaps highlighting that they are equal or not as important as directors for example. DO

 This scene foreshadows that the majority of the film will be set in Brooklyn, and how Brooklyn may be a good place for the gangs to control. TG

  This clearly shows that the gangs in this area have a high level of authority and intimidation in the area. TG

 Setting in dark railway station, with red cross sign next to it, indicating how everyone around this area is in need of help. DO

 The font suggests it is written in blood, which is associated with violence in this film. The director of photography is also on his own which indicates is he important to the production of the film. TG

The scene of the titles shows that the main priority for the characters in this film is violence, as he is hitting public equipment. This may also suggest that he his very poor as he cannot afford a punching bag. DO