Shutter+Island

Martin Scorsese’s psychological thriller // Shutter Island // was released in 2010 and was based on a novel about a man named Edward Daniels . Daniels is a U.S. Marshal and has been sent to investigate the Ashecliffe Hospital, a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane, on an island called Shutter Island. The lighting, cinematography, and editing techniques used within the film all contribute to setting the mysterious tone of the movie and expressing its themes of the consequences of denying and distorting reality and the paranoia that accompanies guilt.

Overall, the movie is lit dimly and is rather dark and shadowy, with extremely few instances of normal, natural day-time lighting. Darkly lit and blue-tinged scenes creates the effect of lifelessness and adds to the uncomfortable feeling that something is not quite right, a feeling that is present in numerous scenes. Natural day-time lighting is only present in scenes in which the director wishes the audience to believe as realistic, such as the scene in which Marshall, Chuck, and the police offers are arriving at the institute. There are two major lighting techniques that are used: the use of fire as a lighting as well as extreme top lighting. When fire is used as either the only source or the main source of lighting in a scene, it creates not only flickering and unusual images, but also hints that the scene is a hallucination on Daniels’ part. The use of extreme top-lighting makes the scenes in which they are used more dramatic, with higher intensity. It exposes the characters and shows them in a way that they are not normally seen. The lighting does the most in creating the mysterious and suspicious tone of the story, and emphasizes the themes of the story.

The cinematography of //Shutter Island// is extremely well-done. It is obvious that every shot has its own purpose, and was planned specifically. The cinematographer chooses to add in artistic and aesthetically-pleasing shots into what would be a range of otherwise normal shots, such as panoramic shots of the island. A wide variety of shots are used, and are used in both conventional and unusual ways. For example, wide shots are used to introduce the location of the film, Shutter Island. However, some of the wide shots are shot at extremely high angles, which makes it seem as though someone or something is monitoring everything that is happening on the isolated island. The use of high angles is important throughout the rest of the film as well. High-angled shots begin to increase in frequency as the story progresses, and when combined with dramatic lighting, stimulate the uneasy feelings that Daniels is feeling as he gets more and more tangled into what he believes is a web of lies. Low-angled shots, medium shots, and close-up shots trick the audience into believing that Daniels is the sole stable one in the story, and knows that things aren’t the way they seem to be. The cinematographer also utilizes classical extreme close-ups (ECUs) when he wants to foreshadow or emphasize something within a scene, such as the ECU of the note to Daniels that says “RUN.” This is particularly interesting because it contrasts with how the rest of the shots are shot. They are shot in a seemingly inconspicuous way, but they actually cause one to focus on certain parts of the scene and completely miss hints that become obvious after the ending of the story is revealed, such as a shot in which glances are exchanged behind Daniels’ back. The cinematography of the film visually reinforce the tone and theme of the movie by the range of different yet equally important shots.

The editing of //Shutter Island// is disturbingly genius. Reality, imagination, the past, and the present, are all juxtaposed into creating the identity of “Edward Daniels”. The editor chooses to introduce flashbacks with bright white flashes, in order to prevent further confusion as to what exactly is happening. However, there are also times when scenes are simply intercut into the scenes, letting the audience decide whether those scenes were his dreams, hallucinations, or actual memories of his past. One of the main aspects of the editing in this film that stands is the use of both continuity editing and discontinuity editing. Overall, the movie is continuously edited and shots within the scenes flow smoothly. However, there are also extremely obvious instances of discontinuity. For example, there is a scene in which Daniels is interviewing a mental patient, and she is given a glass of water. When she lifts the glass of water to her lips, she actually is not holding anything in her hands. However, when she places the glass on the table, the glass is there. Rather than being a mistake, these shots actually make the audience wonder whether they truly saw what they think they just did, and lets them experience what Daniels is feeling: paranoia and the feeling of being hyperaware in order to not miss anything. This is the genius effect of the editing. Despite how the audience is forced to pay close attention to the movie, they still are not able to piece the story together and are as clueless as Daniels is. Through the editing, the film is made even more mysterious, and the audience experiences feelings of paranoia and confusion.