Shutter Island

A Flickering Reality gives emphasis to those films in which the viewer is placed in the same situation as the protagonist, or sees the world through the protagonist’s eyes. This in Beautiful Mind we are led to believe that Nash’s roommate is as real as all the other people he meets. Similar situations exist in Vanilla Sky, Sixth Sense and The Trueman Show. Shutter Island is an interesting case for we are introduced to the main character, Teddy Daniels, a U.S Marshal on his way to investigate the escape of a dangerous prisoner from an asylum for the criminally insane. But as we follow the progress of Teddy’s investigation we begin to question our sense of the reality of the situation. To begin with there are Teddy’s disturbing flashback to the drowning of his children by his wife, and to his experiences during the liberations of a concentration camp during the Second World War. These are hints at brain washing, mind control and even lobotomies on the island. And when Teddy begins to interview the nurses they appear embarrassed and uneasy at having to speak to him.

As Teddy’s sense of reality begins to break down we realize that he is not acting as a principal investigator but is an inmate of the hospital. One who is about to admit that he has been suffering from serious delusions brought about  by the guilt surrounding his failure to realize the threat his wife posed to his family. And what of the end of the film which has been much debated. Had Teddy lapsed back into the world of delusion, or made the conscious decision that it would be better to remove the crippling pain of his guilt via a lobotomy? Shutter Island is an interesting variation on films in which the view must collude with the protagonist in an attempt to make sense of the world that is presented to him.