Similar Textual Analysis

Film title - shutter Island
Genre - crime/ physiological thriller
Target audience - 16 +

''Shutter island'' is about two marshal's getting sent to an island to find a missing patient at the institute but all goes wrong for one of the marshal as he finds out that all is not what it seems at Shutter Island. Shutter Island has a closed narrative as there is no sequel because you find out what happens at the end. It has a single strand narrative as it concentrates on one story line throughout the film. Also a Non-linear narrative as it jumps from flashbacks to reality, investigative narrative as the marshals are trying to find out where the patient escaped to and a realist narrative as the events that took place could happen in real life. The mode of address in shutter island is very formal as they are Federal Marshal's even though they seem rather friendly to each other they both are well spoken. During the first 5 minutes of the film I did not see any intersexuality.
The themes that showed in the opening sequence were mainly 1) fear as teddy Daniels was scared of water 2) loss as teddy lost his wife and work 3) authority as the Marshal's took their job very seriously. Water was the main motif they used as they begin with the sound of water before you sees anything, they zoom into the ocean and the tap running, Teddy mentions the word water several times when he's talking to himself in the bathroom and when he admits his fear of water. ''It’s just water'' he says '' A lot of water'' and '' I just can’t stomach the water ''. The fact that the other marshal calls Teddy ''boss'' and also says '' you're a legend'' tells the audience that teddy is well known and must be good at his job if everyone knows him also the fact that other Marshal calls him ''boss'' shows that he has higher authority even though Teddy talks to him as an equal which shows that he is a nice and genuine man.
The ideology in the sequence was when Teddy was sea sick most people think that if you have traumatising past experiences with something then it turns out you later on in life will be scared of the thing. The audience assumes that he has had a past experience with water as it really makes him sick that he cannot stand properly.
There were only males in the opening sequence. The two marshal's were represented as smart ''you must be the smartest out you’re bunch if they picked you for this'', tough as he was holding his emotions back when he was talking about his wife ''I'm so sorry''....''Its fine'' and also down to earth as they were joking about and telling each other about their life’s. The older man who looked like the Captain of the ship was rude as he told the marshal's to hurry up getting of the ship. I think that the Captain feels like he knows more about the Island that's why he is mean to the marshal's and also the fact that he has to drive the ship while the marshal's sit back and relax makes him angry as well. In this scene the Marshal's are shown to have more authority over the captain because they are always at the front of the frame and the Captain remains at the back. When they reach the island the authority is reversed as they had to be escorted by police .This shows that they are not trusted in this new environment or maybe it is for their safety. The stereotype of marshal's are sneaky and clever also very serious. The two men break this stereotype as they are very down to earth but also have their jobs as their first priority. The ''star'' of the film is Leonardo Dicaprio. He is the first face you see on camera, there are many close ups of his face and also the camera stays on him longer than the other characters. He is well known for other films like ''titanic'' and ''inception'' other than that he is also a very diverse actor.
The first shot is a long shot of a boat emerging from the distance .This shows that they are at the sea and the scene that we are about to see will have some reference to the boat. There then is a lot of close-up's of Leonardo Dicaprio and what he is doing the use of close up's is very effective as the audience have just been introduced to these characters which gives us a chance to see them close-up. Leonardo dicaprio is the only one in the sequence who has frames by himself all the other actors have to share frames this is because Leo has the main role in the film and by doing that it establishes his role in the film. There is a long establishing shot of the island. This shows how big the island is. Also the fact that it was far away makes it more menacing as it is there and are going towards it and it has two men standing there waiting for them when they arrive which makes the two marshal's nervous and anxious because they have just found out the history of the island.
The first sound you hear is the sound of water which immediately shows that that the sequence will have something to do with water. There are ambient sounds of birds in the background and also the sounds of waves crashing against the boat. Other than that there is Diagetic sound of the boat horn which was enhanced to make it louder this is alarming as it was silent. The music right at the beginning with the credits was a scratchy violin type of sound. This showed that the film was a thriller as the music was unnerving. When they go to a flashback there is incidental music to help the atmosphere of the scene. The music was very sad so it shows that this was a sad memory and part of his life. '' A mental hospital for the criminally insane'' this shows that this is no ordinary mental institute but for the criminally insane which then adds tension and suspicion to the scene it opens a lot of questions in the audience's head like why are the marshal's sent there ? Why is this institute separated from the rest of the world? ''The harbour is the only way in and out of the island''.'' I would appreciate if you would hurry getting off the boat'' these quotes show that the island is a secluded area which is hard to get to also an undesirable place to be.
There were no special effects in the opening sequence.
The beginning credits all faded to black to the next name. This showed it was a thriller because if you watch most thriller trailers all the clips fade to black. All of the transitions were cut from shot to shot this is to show that nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet. There was a flash back when Teddy was talking about to his wife which then cross-cuts to a close-up of the ocean which makes the audience assume that the wife died of drowning or something water related but we soon realise that she died from a fire. There was superimposition at the beginning where it says ''Boston Harbour Island 1954'' which establishes the scene and date as well.
The scene was set on a boat travelling to a deserted island in the middle of a large ocean. The only prop in the sequence were cigarettes which showed that they were both smokers. The handcuff’s hanging from the ship also shows that the ship is no ordinary ships but probably one were prisoners are taken. The marshal was dressed smartly in a suit hat and tie this showed that they were not on vacation but were on business and probably work related. Leo was the only one who was in a shot by himself which showed his importance. All the character's facial expressions were serious and Leo was hunched over to show that he was not feeling well. Lighting was dull and dreary which is convenient as they said there was a storm coming it was also ambient light no artificial light used. All of the characters were wearing dark and dull colours which complemented the mood well as it showed it was a dark depressing time and also gave the idea that the rest of the film will be like this as well.
The two marshal's outfits showed that we were not in the 21'st century as people do not wear that anymore also their accents showed that they were from Boston.
In the first opening five minute's we see two Marshal's on a boat heading towards an Island which we soon find out is a mental institute for the criminally insane. One of the Marshal is hunched over a toilet then splashes water over his face before joining the other marshal. They talk about their life's and find out about each other and what they are getting themselves into before they onboard the ship. We connote that the two marshal's are there for business as they are in uniform and that the marshal hunched over the toilet is being (sea) sick and has to splash water over his face to pull himself together. We connate that they are talking about their lives and introducing each other because they have not met before and to prepare themselves for the long journey they have ahead.
I feel that I have got the preferred reading as I am already captivated by the first 5 minutes and am eagerly waiting. Someone who found it boring would have gotten the oppositional reading.

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