Shutter Island

Shutter Island
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martin Scorsese
Produced by	Martin Scorsese Bradley J. Fischer Mike Medavoy Arnold W. Messer
Screenplay by	Laeta Kalogridis Steven Knight (Uncredited)
Based on	Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Editing by	Mick Audsley Thelma Schoonmaker
Studio	Appian Way Productions Phoenix Pictures Sikelia Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 19, 2010 (2010-02-19)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English, German
Budget	$80 million[1]
Box office	$294,804,195[2]

Shutter Island is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is based on Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel of the same name. Production started in March 2008. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility on the titular island. Positively cited by movie reviewers, the film grossed over $128 million in its initial domestic theater release.^[2]

Shutter Island was originally stated to be released on October 2, 2009, but Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures pushed the release date to February 19, 2010.^[3]

Plot

In 1954, two U.S. Marshals, Edward "Teddy" Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Ruffalo), travel to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island located in Boston Harbor, as part of an investigation on the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando (Mortimer), incarcerated for drowning her three children. Shortly after arrival, a storm prevents their return to the mainland for several days. Daniels finds the staff confrontational: the lead psychiatrist, Dr. John Cawley (Kingsley), refuses to hand over records of the hospital staff; Solando's doctor, Dr. Sheehan, had left on vacation after her disappearance, and they are barred from searching Ward C and told that the lighthouse on the island has already been searched.

Daniels starts having migraine headaches, waking visions of his involvement in the Dachau massacre, and disturbing dreams of his wife, Dolores Chanal (Williams), who was killed in a fire set by arsonist Andrew Laeddis (Koteas). In one dream, Chanal tells Daniels that Solando is still on the island, as well as Laeddis. Daniels later explains to Aule that locating Laeddis was an ulterior motive for taking the case.

As Daniels and Aule continue their investigation, they find that Solando has been found by the staff with no explanation. With neither the staff or patients helping, Daniels decides to break into Ward C, and eventually meets George Noyce (Haley), another patient. Noyce warns Daniels that Ashecliffe is performing questionable experiments on its patients, and sends the incurable to the lighthouse to be lobotomized. As Daniels leaves, Noyce asserts that everyone on the island, including Aule, is playing in a game designed for Daniels.

Daniels regroups with Aule and they make their way to the lighthouse, but as they attempt to transgress the cliffs, they become separated. Daniels finds a woman hiding in a cave, claiming to be the real Rachel Solando (Clarkson). The woman asserts she was a former psychiatrist at Ashecliffe until she discovered the experiments with psychotropic medication in an attempt to develop mind control techniques and create Sleeper agents. When she attempted to alert the authorities, she was committed as a patient. Leaving the woman, Daniels finds no sign of Aule, and returns to the hospital. Dr. Cawley claims that Daniels arrived alone, with no evidence of Aule ever being there.

Determined but confused, Daniels returns to the lighthouse and breaks into it. At the top, he finds Dr. Cawley waiting for him. Cawley explains that "Daniels" is really Andrew Laeddis, incarcerated after killing his wife after she drowned their children. According to Dr. Cawley, the events of the past several days have been designed to break Laeddis' conspiracy-laden insanity by allowing him to play out the role of Daniels, an anagram of his name. The hospital staff, including Dr. Sheehan posing as Aule, were part of the test, and the migraines that Laeddis suffered were withdrawal symptoms from his medication. The memory of killing his wife briefly returns to Laeddis, and he passes out.

Laeddis awakes in the hospital, under watch of Dr. Cawley and Sheehan. When questioned, Laeddis can provide the details of how he killed his wife, which satisfies the doctors as a sign of progression; Dr. Cawley notes that they had achieved this state nine months before but Laeddis had quickly regressed. The doctor further warns that this will be Laeddis' last chance. Some time later, Laeddis relaxes near the hospital grounds with Dr. Sheehan, and begins calling him "Chuck" and believes they need to expose the conspiracy of Ashecliffe to the world. Recognizing this as a sign of regression, Dr. Cawley orders Laeddis to the lighthouse to be lobotomized; as he is taken away, Laeddis tells Dr. Sheehan that one can "live as a monster, or die as a good man", and then calmly leaves with the orderlies.

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Edward 'Teddy' Daniels
• Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule
• Ben Kingsley as Dr. John Cawley
• Max von Sydow as Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
• Michelle Williams as Dolores Chanal
• Emily Mortimer as Rachel Solando
• Patricia Clarkson as Dr. Rachel Solando
• Jackie Earle Haley as George Noyce
• Ted Levine as Warden
• John Carroll Lynch as Deputy Warden McPherson
• Elias Koteas as Andrew Laeddis
• Jill Larson as Old Manacled Woman
• Ken Cheeseman as Doctor 1
• Ruby Jerins as Rachel Laeddis
• Robin Bartlett as Bridget Kearns
• Matthew Cowles as Ferry Boat Captain

Production

Feature film rights to the 2003 novel Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane were first optioned to Columbia Pictures in 2003, but the rights lapsed back to the author. Lehane's representatives then sold the rights to the production company Phoenix Pictures, who hired screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to adapt the novel for film. The project was in development for a year. By October 2007, the project had developed into a co-production between the studios Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who had worked together on three films—Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed—were both attracted to Shutter Island as their next collaboration. Locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Nova Scotia were scouted.^[4] Production began on March 6, 2008.^[5]

Filming of the World War II flashback scenes for DiCaprio's character, a former soldier, took place in Taunton, Massachusetts.^[6] Scorsese filmed the scenes in old industrial buildings in Taunton's Whittenton Mills Complex to replicate the Dachau concentration camp, which was seen in flashbacks.^[7] Extras portraying the Dachau prisoners were called back to reshoot a scene in July, because the film of one scene was damaged due to an improperly sealed film shipping container. Scenes were filmed at the old Medfield State Hospital in Medfield, Massachusetts. Scenes in Cawley's office were shot on the second floor of the chapel during the late evening; lights were shone on the windows to make it look like it was daytime. The surrounding brick walls in the outside hospital scenes were actually painted plywood which served the dual purpose of acting as scenery and blocking the set from view of a local road. Originally, scenes were going to be shot at the old Worcester State Hospital, but the filming would have gone on during the demolition of the surrounding buildings, which was impractical. Borderland State Park in North Easton, Massachusetts was used for the cabin scene. Peddocks Island was used as a setting for the story's island and East Point, in Nahant, Massachusetts for the lighthouse scenes.^[8] Filming ended on July 2, 2008.^[9]

Music

Shutter Island: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	February 02, 2010
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	116:41
Label	Rhino Records
Producer	Robbie Robertson John Powell

Shutter Island: Music from the Motion Picture was released on February 2, 2010 by Rhino Records. The film has no original score. Instead, Scorsese's longtime collaborator Robbie Robertson created an ensemble of previously recorded material to use in the film.

According to a statement on Paramount's website: "The collection of modern classical music [on the soundtrack album] was hand-selected by Robertson, who is proud of its scope and sound. 'This may be the most outrageous and beautiful soundtrack I've ever heard.' [Robertson stated]."^[10]

A full track-listing of the album can be seen below. All the musical works are featured in the final film.

Disc 1

1. "Fog Tropes" (Ingram Marshall) – (Orchestra of St. Lukes & John Adams)
2. "Symphony No. 3: Passacaglia – Allegro Moderato" (Krzysztof Penderecki) – (National Polish Radio Symphony & Antoni Wit)
3. "Music for Marcel Duchamp" (John Cage) – (Philipp Vandré)
4. "Hommage à John Cage" – (Nam June Paik)
5. "Lontano" (György Ligeti) – (Wiener Philharmoniker & Claudio Abbado)
6. "Rothko Chapel 2" (Morton Feldman) – (UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus)
7. "Cry" – (Johnnie Ray)
8. "On the Nature of Daylight" – (Max Richter)
9. "Uaxuctum: The Legend of the Mayan City Which They Themselves Destroyed for Religious Reasons – 3rd Movement" (Giacinto Scelsi) – (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra)
10. "Quartet for Strings and Piano in A Minor" (Gustav Mahler) – (Prazak Quartet)

Disc 2

1. "Christian Zeal and Activity" (John Adams) – (The San Francisco Symphony & Edo de Waart)
2. "Suite for Symphonic Strings: Nocturne" (Lou Harrison) – (The New Professionals Orchestra & Rebecca Miller)
3. "Lizard Point" – (Brian Eno)
4. "Four Hymns: II for Cello and Double Bass" (Alfred Schnittke) – (Torleif Thedéen & Entcho Radoukanov)
5. "Root of an Unfocus" (John Cage) – (Boris Berman)
6. "Prelude – The Bay" – (Ingram Marshall)
7. "Wheel of Fortune" – (Kay Starr)
8. "Tomorrow Night" – (Lonnie Johnson)
9. "This Bitter Earth"/"On the Nature of Daylight" – (Dinah Washington & Max Richter; Arrangement by Robbie Robertson)

Genre

As a period piece, Shutter Island is laced with nods to different films in the film noir and horror genre, and could generally be viewed as paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock's works.^[11] Scorsese stated in an interview that while the main reference to Teddy Daniels was Dana Andrews' character in Laura, he was also influenced by several very low-budget 1940s zombie movies made by Val Lewton.^[12] The main frame of the plot bears strong resemblance to William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration, a film also known as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane.^[13][14]

La Croix noted that Shutter Island was a "complex and puzzling" work which borrowed from genres as diverse as detective and fantasy, and notably the psychological thriller.^[15]

There have been differing opinions over the ending of the film in which Laeddis tells Dr. Sheehan that one can "live as a monster, or die as a good man"—a line that does not appear in the book. According to Scorsese's psychiatric adviser, Professor James Gilligan of New York University, Laeddis' last words mean: "I feel too guilty to go on living. I'm not going to actually commit suicide, but I'm going to vicariously commit suicide by handing myself over to these people who're going to lobotomise me."^[16] Dennis Lehane, however, was quoted as saying, "Personally, I think he has a momentary flash.... It's just one moment of sanity mixed in the midst of all the other delusions."^[16]

Release

The film was scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures in the United States and Canada on October 2, 2009.^[17] Paramount later announced it was going to push back the release date to February 19, 2010.^[18] Reports attribute the pushback to Paramount not having "the financing in 2009 to spend the $50 to $60 million necessary to market a big awards pic like this," to DiCaprio's unavailability to promote the film internationally, and to Paramount's hope that the economy might rebound enough by February 2010 that a film geared toward adult audiences would be more viable financially.^[19]

The film premiered at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival as part of the competition screening on February 13, 2010.^[20][21] Spanish distributor Manga Films will distribute the film in Spain after winning a bidding war that reportedly reached the $6 million to $8 million range.^[22]

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 69% based on reviews from 240 critics, and reports a rating average of 6.6 out of 10. Its critical consensus is that "It may not rank with Scorsese's best work, but Shutter Island's pace and gleefully unapologetic genre thrills represent the director at his most unrestrained; resulting in a successful and highly sophisticated psycho-horror."^[23] The film received a weighted average score of 63% from Metacritic based on 37 reviews from mainstream critics.^[24] Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer gave the film 4/4 stars claiming "After four decades, Martin Scorsese has earned the right to deliver a simple treatment of a simple theme with flair."^[25] Writing for The Wall Street Journal, John Anderson highly praised the film, suggesting it "requires multiple viewings to be fully realized as a work of art. Its process is more important than its story, its structure more important than the almost perfunctory plot twists it perpetrates. It's a thriller, a crime story and a tortured psychological parable about collective guilt."^[26] Awarding the film 3½ stars out of 4, Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times wrote in this review that "the movie is about: atmosphere, ominous portents, the erosion of Teddy's confidence and even his identity. It's all done with flawless directorial command. Scorsese has fear to evoke, and he does it with many notes."^[27]

The Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore, who gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, wrote, "It's not bad, but as Scorsese, America's greatest living filmmaker and film history buff should know, even Hitchcock came up short on occasion. See for yourself."^[28] Dana Stevens of Slate described the film "an aesthetically and at times intellectually exciting puzzle, but it's never emotionally involving."^[29] The Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday negatively described the film as being "weird".^[30] A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote in his review that "Something TERRIBLE is afoot. Sadly, that something turns out to be the movie itself."^[31]

Box office

The film opened #1 at the box office with $41 million, according to studio estimates. The movie gave Scorsese his best box office opening yet.^[32] The film remained #1 in its second weekend with $22.2 million.^[33] Eventually, the film has grossed $128,012,934 in North America and $166,790,080 in foreign markets, for a total of $294,803,014^[2] and became Scorsese's highest-grossing film worldwide.^[34]

Home media

Shutter Island was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 8, 2010 in the USA^[35], and on 2 August 2010 in the UK^[36]. The UK release featured two editions—a standard edition and a limited steel-case edition.

References

External links

• Official website
• Shutter Island at the Internet Movie Database
• Shutter Island at AllRovi
• Shutter Island at Box Office Mojo
• Shutter Island at Rotten Tomatoes
• Shutter Island at Metacritic

v t e Dennis Lehane Bibliography Kenzie-Gennaro novels A Drink Before the War Darkness, Take My Hand Sacred Gone, Baby, Gone Prayers for Rain Moonlight Mile Other works Mystic River Shutter Island Coronado: Stories The Given Day Filmography Mystic River The Wire Gone Baby Gone Shutter Island