Shutter Island - Film Review

Shutter Island Film Review

I felt that this was an important film that I have watched recently to review, especially from being sat within the walls of a mental health unit. Of course, treatment within mental health units has changed considerably from the 50s (which is when this movie was set in). The ideas and psychological input is still applicable, however. Mental health films, overall, spark my interest, due to my history and when I finally got around to watching ‘Shutter Island’, it was important to me. Just as a pre-warning, this review will contain a big spoiler.
    So, the synopsis begins, with a detective and his new partner trying to find a missing patient on the island for the worst criminally insane labelled patients in the USA. The first scene is of the patient being sick in the toilet of a ship. Then him discussing his new case with his partner. They go onto the island to investigate.
   After establishing our main character ‘Teddy’ and his partner ‘Chuck’, we are introduced to the lead psychiatrist, John Cawley, who explains who the patient is and what danger she may be facing. As the plot develops, Cawley goes on into detail about his plans as the lead psychiatrist and why it is important for him, personally, how he treats his patients, and only in extreme circumstances will use psychotropic medications or surgery, that being a lobotomy.
    Teddy goes on to interview both staff and patients into the case of the escaped patient, but the plot thickens, as Teddy begins to suffer severe flashbacks and nightmares, until the point in which he wakes up sweating – this is the first time we are established as an audience into Teddy’s personal life and his difficulties. This heightens when he is in the doctor’s office and suffers, what we are known, to be a severe migraine, to which Dr. Cawley quickly arrives with medication to help with this.
    Teddy and Chuck’s search for the missing female continues, until she is suddenly found by some of the ‘orderlies’. Teddy interviews her, which he finds upsetting, resulting in further flashbacks. At the climax he goes off into the island on his own in search to get off of the island, as Teddy begins to believe that the service is corrupt; he arrives at the lighthouse, after attacking a security guard.
    This is when the entire tone shifts and it is revealed that Teddy is not Teddy at all, and is, indeed a patient on the island, in fact, is one of the most dangerous patients living within Shutter Island, where he has actually lived for two years. Dr. Cawley continues to explain that Teddy is in fact a patient he frequently mentioned within his interviews, ‘Andrew Laedis’ is him, the patient who he resents so deeply. That they gave into his intrusive, realistic delusions in order to finally see him recover before having to result in a lobotomy. Then it is revealed that his partner ‘Chuck’ is actually his main personal consultant, Dr. Sheehan and his conspiracies about the island are also part of his delusions and the reason he became ill, was mainly from his manic depressive wife killing his children, which resulted in him killing his wife.
   Now, the reason I have gone so deeply into the plot of this Scorsese film, is because of just how clever it is. Upon a second watch, you realise so many hidden little tricks that the director puts in there, so that you can see them upon second viewing. Such as the guards not caring about searching too much, because the escaped patient doesn’t exist or the way that patients reacted during their interviews. It was far from a cheap shock, when it was revealed that ‘Teddy’ is, in fact, a patient. It all ties the loose ends together and makes the film completely different to what the audience originally assumed that it was going to be. The reveal made you empathise for the character and make you feel genuinely sad that this has happened to him, and makes the nightmares and flashbacks all the more visceral and poignant.
   Another thing I have to note about the film is the clear sympathy that both psychiatrists have for Andrew Laedis, and this is probably the reason for their elaborate scheme for him to come to his senses. You can tell by the facial expressions from Dr. Sheehan (a.k.a. Chuck) how much genuine care, concern and compassion he has for Laedis throughout the duration of the film, especially when it comes to the end, when it seems that the treatment hasn’t worked. ‘Seems’ being the operative word, because the end is left quite ambiguous to whether Laedis truly did come to terms with his crimes, meaning he would rather be lobotomised than have to come to terms with the fact that he murdered his own wife, and his children were drowned. He would rather be numbed from the pain, than come to terms with and work through his trauma. This is relatable on a personal level, although his is, of course, a lot more extreme.
    There’s so much I could about the symbolism and the importance of both water and fire within this film, but that’s too much writing in one go, so I’ll leave it for now. Hope you enjoyed that in depth explanation and mini review all the same.