Clip Duration: 04:15
Start Point: 00:00
End Point: 04:15
Genre Studies
Shutter Island can establish its genre of mystery and thriller through the approximately 4-minute opening sequence. The choice of typography used for the title ident fully complements the genre as the fading away effect brings in a mysteriousness to the film. Moreover, it also looks like something is missing or something is being hidden, which suits the theme and name of the film.
Despite not using a lot of abrupt non-diegetic sound, the film is able to use modulated background music throughout the 4-minute opening sequence, and the sound gets louder every time tension is raised. Even though the use of sound goes against the convention of the mystery thriller genre, the film was still able to raise the tension needed for the scenes. Low-key lighting and a blue tone were used in almost all of the scenes during the 4-minute opening sequence. This helps to add to the mysterious feel and complements the genre. Furthermore, close-up shots were also used to capture the changes in emotion of Teddy, the protagonist character. It also helps to emphasize the differences in the past and present appearance of Teddy, by how his facial look changes. Shutter Island also has set a suitable mise-en-scene for the theme of the film. The main location is set on an island, therefore the opening sequence starting off with the characters being on the ship and sailing towards the island is spatially understandable. A lot of enigmas are raised throughout the sequence, such as why Teddy and his partner have to move to an isolated island to work, why is the island isolated, why is the captain so afraid to stay at the island for too long, and more. Analysis
The opening sequence started with a title ident of the distribution company, Paramount Pictures. It is then followed by the productions, Phoenix Pictures, Sikelia Productions, and Appian Way. After that, the name of the film is revealed, Shutter Island. All the typography used for the title idents were capitalized letters with a metallic look. The fonts are also edited to be darker as they reach the top of the letter, creating the effect that it is fading away.
The screen remains black as we see an ident that reads, Boston Harbor Islands, 1954. Based on the ident, audiences can infer that the setting for the film takes place on an island, in the 1950s. We could hear a modulated non-diegetic sound that is very mysterious, together with the sound of water.The screen then fades out and reveals a greyish screen. The modulated background music and water sound continue as a ship is revealed to be sailing in the ocean when the smoke slowly fades away. This sets up the atmosphere for the film to be mysterious and hard to expect. The scene has a cold tone, with desaturated colors, presenting the genre of mystery and thriller. It then cuts to a low-key lighting shot with the sound of a man vomiting. We could infer that the man could possibly be seasick.
The man then looks at himself in the mirror, revealing his appearance. Through the close-up shot, he looks like a well-dressed middle-aged man (seen by his beard and wrinkles), with a suit and tie, together with his hair all brushed with gel. However, he has a bandage on his forehead, contrasting with his looks. Moreover, Straussian binary opposition is seen as despite how well dressed he looks, his mentality is currently unstable, and is vomiting in the bathroom. Based on how he is reassuring himself, the audience knows that his name is Teddy.
The shot then cuts to a medium-wide shot from the back, confirming that he is wearing a suit and revealing part of the environment. The old, blueish-toned bathroom infer that he is currently on the ship and according to his words, he is afraid of the water, therefore leading to his action of vomiting. Another detail was also revealed during this shot based on how Teddy touches his belt, with a badge attached to it.
As Barthe's theory of connotation and denotation suggests, he might be someone with high status, based on his outfit, his look, and the badge he is wearing. The scene then cuts to an extreme close-up from the side view of Teddy looking out into the ocean. There is only one source of light coming from outside, therefore Teddy’s face has a hard lighting, enhancing his uneasy emotion when facing his fear.
The shot then cuts to a wide shot of the internals of the ship, with metal objects hanging around. The shot is filmed using a shallow depth of field, only focusing on the hanging objects. The depth of field then switches to deep to focus on Teddy taking a jacket and walking out of the bathroom. As the camera tracks Teddy by a panning motion, we see some handcuffs hanging from the ceiling, creating an enigma for the opening sequence.
Teddy walks out to the bow, and sees a man, dressing similarly to him standing there. The similarity of the appearance could connote that the 2 characters could be coworkers or partners, based on Barthe’s theory. The location changed from indoor to outdoor but there is no additional source of light coming from the sun.
The sky is all cloudy, connoting that the upcoming event might not be easy. The background mysterious non-diegetic background music still continues as Teddy approaches the man. Teddy then started to breathe harder, panting and looking down, signaling he was trying to overcome his fear.
The character then starts talking to Teddy, referring to him as boss, and asking about his condition. Based on how the character reacts, the audience could infer they are partners and the character is a good guy because he cares about other people. The conversation starts between the 2 men as the shot is filmed in a wide shot, further revealing the cloudy sky and a blueish tone to the scene.
As the conversation continues, we know that the other character has been a police magistrate for 4 years, signaling that they might be off for an investigation job together. Van Zoonen's ideals of beauty are seen through this shot as both the police characters are seen to be male, indicating that females are not suitable for the job. Hall’s stereotype theory is therefore also present, showing how the media typically will have male actors play a character that requires more strength and skills, compared to female actors, due to the stereotypes of men being strong and women being weak.
The shot then cuts to a close-up 2 shot when the character asks about Teddy's personal life. This helps to capture the changes in emotion of the character as the conversation topic changes. Teddy is seen to have a mixed expression when he is asked, before replying, I was. The modulated background music starts as Teddy thinks about the past.
The scene then cuts to a woman holding a tie, which is the exact same that Teddy was wearing on the ship. The tone of the scene also immediately switches to a warm tone, connoting that it is a happy moment in Teddy’s life, and there is no coldness present. As the scene cuts to a close-up shot of Teddy and his wife, Binary opposition is seen, showing the difference between the past Teddy and the present Teddy.
In the past, he looks young and happy, his face is smooth with fewer wrinkles, contrasting with the look of his current self. Straussian theory is also seen through the difference in the color of the 2 scenes, warm and cold. When the recall ends, a close-up shot of Teddy shows his emotions when thinking about his wife, before revealing that she died.
The audience could then infer that Teddy’s fear of the water was due to the death of his wife. She could possibly drown or die when they are going on a vacation together on a cruise. However, contrast happens when Teddy shares that the cause of death was due to a fire, completely opposite to his fear. This further brings in the enigmas because a close-up of the ocean is seen right after the recall.
The 2 characters continue the conversation while smoking and other information is told, that they might be heading to an institution, specifically a mental hospital for criminally insane patients. The scene then cuts to an establishing shot of an island, that looks very lonely and mysterious. Non-diegetic background music was also heard to be louder, adding in more tension to the scene.
A third character joins them and based on the outfit that he is wearing, the audience understands that he is the captain. The captain then shares that there is only one way on to or off the island through the dock. Before going away, he reminded the 2 police to head off quickly. This could connote that the island is a place where normal people don’t want to be near and that it is mysterious and scary.
He then ended the conversation by saying the storm was coming. This information could be inferred both ways. In reality storm is really coming based on the look of the cloudy, dark sky. However, the captain could also be talking about the upcoming journey of the police on the island, that it is going to be hard. The sequence then ends with Teddy looking up to the sky with a hard-to-tell expression.
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