Proceeding further I would like to talk about another film. Yesterday I got hold of DVD of Shutter Island. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley. I have always liked the combination of DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese like Gangs of New York and The Departed though I am not much of a fan of Aviator. The screenplay of Shutter Island is refreshingly twisted and provides the quality of suspense which I was craving for a long time.
PLOTIn 1954, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island. They are investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient said to have vanished from a locked room. Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the head psychiatrist, explains that Rachel was institutionalized after drowning her three children.
During the search for Rachel, Teddy sees a lighthouse but he is told it has already been searched. The Marshals question the staff and learn that Rachel's psychiatrist, Dr. Sheehan, left for vacation that morning. Teddy asks to see the hospital personnel files but Cawley refuses. That night, Teddy has strange dreams about his wife, Dolores Chanal (Michelle Williams), who had died in a fire two years before. During this dream, she tells Teddy that Rachel is still on the island, as is Andrew Laeddis, the man who started the fire in which she died.
In the morning, they interview patients from Rachel's group therapy sessions, one of whom, after creating a diversion for Chuck, passes Teddy a warning to run. Later that day, Teddy explains to Chuck the real reason why he took the case: after being transferred to Ashecliff, Andrew Laeddis disappeared, so he took it upon himself to investigate the institution. During Teddy's investigation, he met George Noyce, a former patient who claimed that the institution was performing experiments on humans, so Teddy sets out to bring it down.
At a given point, and without any anticipation, Teddy is told Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer) had appeared some time ago, that she is just fine, and he is presented with her. This brings up a scene in which a delusional Rachel mistakes Teddy for her husband who died in war, finally going psychotic. After this, Teddy starts feeling sick, developing photosensitivity and getting increasingly intense headaches. During his sleep he has an episode of hallucinations, after which he wakes up and sets out to investigate Ward C, where the most dangerous patients are. There he eventually finds Noyce (Jackie Earle Haley), who says that the whole situation is a game for Teddy's benefit and that he is afraid of being taken to the lighthouse.
Teddy and Chuck escape the institution, heading to the cliffs surrounding the island, intending to reach the lighthouse. At some point, Chuck disappears and Teddy discovers a cave where the real Rachel Solando (Patricia Clarkson) is hiding. She tells Teddy she was a doctor at Ashecliff until she found out about the experiments and was therefore committed as a patient. She explains that the hospital is using psychotropic medication in an attempt to master mind control, seeking to create sleeper agents for use in the Cold War. She says that Teddy has been similarly drugged since he arrived on the island.
Teddy then makes it to the lighthouse but finds nothing unusual, contrary to what Noyce and Solando had made him anticipate. When he finally makes it to the top, he finds Dr. Cawley waiting for him. The doctor reveals that Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis and he's been a patient for two years, under the care of Dr. Sheehan, the man he thought was Chuck. Cawley tells Teddy it was actually he who shot and killed his manic depressive wife after she drowned their three children, and then went on to create a fantasy where he was a hero to evade his reality. This fantasy implied his adopting his new identity as Edward Daniels, an agent investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, these names being anagrams of "Andrew Laeddis" and "Dolores Chanal", his name and his wife's. Cawley explains that during his time in the clinic, Andrew had gone through several cycles of beginning his investigation, only to find out the reality about his crime, after which the cycle restarted, so Sheehan and Cawley decided to try an experimental therapy, in which they contributed to enact Andrew's fantasy, in an attempt to bring him back to reality, before a lobotomy is deemed as the only viable remedy.
PLOTIn 1954, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island. They are investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient said to have vanished from a locked room. Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the head psychiatrist, explains that Rachel was institutionalized after drowning her three children.
During the search for Rachel, Teddy sees a lighthouse but he is told it has already been searched. The Marshals question the staff and learn that Rachel's psychiatrist, Dr. Sheehan, left for vacation that morning. Teddy asks to see the hospital personnel files but Cawley refuses. That night, Teddy has strange dreams about his wife, Dolores Chanal (Michelle Williams), who had died in a fire two years before. During this dream, she tells Teddy that Rachel is still on the island, as is Andrew Laeddis, the man who started the fire in which she died.
In the morning, they interview patients from Rachel's group therapy sessions, one of whom, after creating a diversion for Chuck, passes Teddy a warning to run. Later that day, Teddy explains to Chuck the real reason why he took the case: after being transferred to Ashecliff, Andrew Laeddis disappeared, so he took it upon himself to investigate the institution. During Teddy's investigation, he met George Noyce, a former patient who claimed that the institution was performing experiments on humans, so Teddy sets out to bring it down.
At a given point, and without any anticipation, Teddy is told Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer) had appeared some time ago, that she is just fine, and he is presented with her. This brings up a scene in which a delusional Rachel mistakes Teddy for her husband who died in war, finally going psychotic. After this, Teddy starts feeling sick, developing photosensitivity and getting increasingly intense headaches. During his sleep he has an episode of hallucinations, after which he wakes up and sets out to investigate Ward C, where the most dangerous patients are. There he eventually finds Noyce (Jackie Earle Haley), who says that the whole situation is a game for Teddy's benefit and that he is afraid of being taken to the lighthouse.
Teddy and Chuck escape the institution, heading to the cliffs surrounding the island, intending to reach the lighthouse. At some point, Chuck disappears and Teddy discovers a cave where the real Rachel Solando (Patricia Clarkson) is hiding. She tells Teddy she was a doctor at Ashecliff until she found out about the experiments and was therefore committed as a patient. She explains that the hospital is using psychotropic medication in an attempt to master mind control, seeking to create sleeper agents for use in the Cold War. She says that Teddy has been similarly drugged since he arrived on the island.
Teddy then makes it to the lighthouse but finds nothing unusual, contrary to what Noyce and Solando had made him anticipate. When he finally makes it to the top, he finds Dr. Cawley waiting for him. The doctor reveals that Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis and he's been a patient for two years, under the care of Dr. Sheehan, the man he thought was Chuck. Cawley tells Teddy it was actually he who shot and killed his manic depressive wife after she drowned their three children, and then went on to create a fantasy where he was a hero to evade his reality. This fantasy implied his adopting his new identity as Edward Daniels, an agent investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, these names being anagrams of "Andrew Laeddis" and "Dolores Chanal", his name and his wife's. Cawley explains that during his time in the clinic, Andrew had gone through several cycles of beginning his investigation, only to find out the reality about his crime, after which the cycle restarted, so Sheehan and Cawley decided to try an experimental therapy, in which they contributed to enact Andrew's fantasy, in an attempt to bring him back to reality, before a lobotomy is deemed as the only viable remedy.
CONCLUSION
Shutter Island, undoubtedly is a psychological thriller masterpiece that works at many levels. On one side it shows the intelligence and reasoning of Teddy as a detective and as we proceed further into the film, we feel the helplessness of Andrew Laeddis. This is the kind of movie which requires at least two or three watch but still something feels missing. On watching it second time, you understand why Ted was having difficulty in finding his own cigarette in the very beginning, why Ted is always restless and perspirating and Chuck is always cool. Ted has hallucination of his wife numerous times in the film.
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