How is the Set Up Used in Shutter Island?

1.             What does the set up reveal to the audience about setting? Where is this place?  What gives you information?

The set up tells the audience about Shutter Island. It doesn’t give away too much about what is going to happen in the film but briefs the audience on what Shutter Island is all about. Like all films, the set up is a critical part of the film. Without knowing about what Shutter Island is, you won’t understand the rest of the film. Thus it’s extremely important. Most of this information is told to the audience through character interaction.

2.             What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters?  Choose one character and explain HOW the set up reveals this information.

I’ve chosen to talk about Teddy. There are various enigma codes dropped throughout the set-up relating to him, which hint to the audience about Teddy’s past. For example, Teddy says, “I’ve seen something like it before” when talking about the barbed wire and electric security around Shutter Island. To begin with this line seems insignificant but as the audience gradually begins to pick out pieces of information and put them together, it becomes more obvious that he was a patient at the hospital.

Back to the original – what the set up reveals to the audience about characters – I don’t think it reveals a lot at all. It uses some effective enigma codes and misdirection (like the flashback in which it looks like his wife dies) but doesn’t explain fully to the audience about the character. It’s because of this you don’t see Teddy as a ‘black’ or ‘white’ character. This is typical of a Thriller film: withholding information until near the end of the film.

3.             What does the set up reveal to the audience about interrelationship between characters?  About their goals?  Are there any things you learn here that become important later on?

The set up shows Teddy and Chuck as being a ‘duo’. It would appear that they have each other’s backs and that they would stick with each other. Because it is a Thriller film it is unsure to tell what may be important later in the film and as I have only seen the opening, I wouldn’t be able to comment on the importance of specific relationships or goals. However, my interpretation at the beginning of the film was that they were there to help each other but seeing as it would appear that Teddy was a prisoner here, it just goes to show that not all characters and relationships are as straight forward as they seem!

4.             What is this ‘world’ like?  Safe? Happy? Dangerous?  How do you know?

Similar to characters, it is very much open to interpretation about whether Shutter Island is a good or a bad place. It is very juxtapositional. The idea of Shutter Island is essentially to help people, but everything about the place seems very negative and dangerous. It doesn’t seem like a happy place neither as everybody is chained up. Again, it is typical of a Thriller film not to give away the full story until the end of the film.

5.             What possible conflicts or strains are there that will become part of the story later on?

During the set up, very few strains or conflicts are shown. One, however, is when the two men are hesitant to give away their firearms. “You will not be getting through these gates with your firearms” they are warned, and eventually give in and hand over their guns. This is interesting because later on in the film, they may possibly approach a situation where they need the guns they had to give up. Also, it gives the audience the opportunity to see that Chuck is unable to take his gun out immediately. It essentially shows the audience that he isn’t very experienced with a gun and so this conflict hints to the audience.

6.             How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of Thriller films?

·       There is a flashback at the very beginning of the film. These are effective in Thriller films because it adds to characters’ pasts and also increases the confusion, which the audience is experiencing.

·       The narration of the film is very restricted. There are many pieces of the plot, which are withheld from the audience. This makes the audience ask more questions that then helps make the film more interesting.

·       There are some very mysterious characters. An example would be the crazy woman who ‘shhhhh’s at Teddy. It makes the audience ask many questions, like who the woman is or why she is telling Teddy to ‘shhhh’. Again, this adds to the confusion and interestingness of the film.