The breaking of the fourth wall has been defined as a character
acknowledging the existence of the audience outside of the film
but besides merely recognizing the existence of the separate reality Martin Scorsese's Shutter island actually invites the audience to
completely identify with its main character by placing the camera inside a mirror
Now, what's so remarkable about this shot is that it helps to clarify why consecutive viewings of Shutter Island change the experience of the film
completely. You could even say that it's like you're watching a
completely different film. We start off by watching a mystery thriller about US Marshal Teddy Daniels and the search for an escaped patient from remote
Ash Cliff mental institution
But mostly the story is about his search for the killer of his wife the arsonist Andrew Laeddis, who
supposedly also a patient on the Island. As the story
unravels we find out that the two marshals might have become the victim of a plot by Ashley to sinus them from revealing
dark secrets about the institution
And it's only at the climax of the story that we discovered a real truth
Your name is Andrew Laeddis... The 67th patient at Ash Cliff is you , Andrew?
Now I suspect most viewers were shocked by this plot twist and with the evidence lay down at a table mine
had thought- how did I not see this before?
However, some people
continue to deny Teddy's true identity stating that [Ashley] is in fact a sort of Nazi Esque Cia
Lab of some kind.To clear up some of these misunderstandings
I will argue that the fourth wall mirror shot is key to
comprehending the truth behind Shutter island and how the film manages to make audiences turn a blind eye towards
reality. Where are the kids?
It's important to note that director Martin Scorsese stated in an interview that the entire movie takes place inside of Teddy's head
Notice that there's not a single scene that doesn't depict Teddy as the focal point of the story
Or even a scene without his mere presence. On
top of that, the audience is constantly reminded of the tragic goodness of an [aroos] made-up character.. Doesn't exactly square with Teddy
Daniels,the man the legend,I'll give you that. Teddy's profession as a US marshal on his role as protector of justice also give his
character superiority over two seemingly
untrustworthy doctors of Ash Cliff
And if that wasn't enough for an audience to align with Teddy, he's also revealed to be a war hero
Having liberated victims of the holocaust from a Nazi concentration camp
I'm from the get-go it is obvious about Teddy's preconceptions about the Asheville if institution are
seen something like before
both the framing and a dramatic almost menacing music
Playing in the background add to the parallel that this facility might not be any less evil than the infamous Nazi death camps
but the real tragedy about his characters that he cannot come to terms with the death of his wife and
suffers from a massive amount of guilt for having executed number of camp guards during the war
Teddy's really shown to be a victim rather than a
perpetrator and all of this really makes it difficult for audience not to fully align with the protagonist and
Really end up being just as delusional as the main character himself
Andrew, please don't
However even during the first viewing of the film you can already notice that Teddy's world is a little strange
Many of the characters don't really seem to act as one would expect him to in certain situations
The guards seem to be irrationally on edge as Teddy and Chuck arrive, and that's supposedly because of the escaped patient
But later are shown to be bored when Teddy launches a search party on the Island
Patients are waving and looking at Teddy but not at Chuck and doctors and nurses are kind of laughing at Teddy's attempts to interview them
Very impressive defense mechanisms. Even Chuck eggs out of character as he struggles to get his firearm out of his belt
Just seems like an odd thing to happen to a u.s.
Marshal and especially for a film with emphasis on such a subtle and arguably insignificant
Occurrence and even said he shows
irrational behaviour as he starts to act on impulse and becomes increasingly violent and reckless in a search for a man who looks almost
too
fantastical to be real
then there's the fact that the film has a number of continuity errors that are so
Obvious that they cannot possibly have been missed
but he added around accident in one scene a character pretends to drink water out of a
Non-existent glass only for the glass to appear Empty in the next shot
These jump cuts and hands the feeling that Teddy is living in a sort of dreamlike state hence why both the character and audience start
To question the realness of the protagonists' world
however all of this can still be
explained if the argument that the entire thing is just a setup and Ted is just being drugged and manipulated into
Believing that he is in fact a perpetrator himself
Why are you here?
Because I've killed my wife
Now there's really one scene or rather one musical piece that quite subtly manages to debunk this train of thought
Architect for piano and string in a minor besides the fact that the music parallels the general feeling of the scene
Quartet for strings and piano in A minor by gustav mahler remains a rather odd choice of music to say the least we see that
The music Triggers a response in teddy that brings him back to the headquarters of the decade
Concentration camp where the same music was playing on a record player now
Why is this odd because the gustav Mahler was Jewish and his music was subsequently banned by the nazis?
Secondly the quartet for strings belongs to Malish earlier and lesser-known work
So why on Earth would ss chem water and half his exact piece playing in his headquarters?
It seems highly unlikely that this event actually happened
And it makes us wonder about the reality of Teddys memories the music as a sort of Grimm Brothers Fairy tale-like
Quality to the Memory while snow was falling everywhere and bodies lie frozen on the ground
The thing is real life footage shows that there was no real snow to be seen during the liberation of the camp
Adding further doubt about just how trustworthy Teddy's perspective is a little research also revealed similar
Actually never finished [the] quartet and had trouble finding his own voice
leaving [in] fragmented and
isolated in between his work the parallel of and rude and seems obvious as he struggles to find his own voice and hides behind the
Voice of Teddy taking the Ferry back in the morning come on Charlie
And you prove that Andrew is in fact hiding behind this fake persona
We only have to look at the opening scene of the movie after teddy froze up
He looks into the mirror which in film often indicates that the character has a split personality
On top of that you can see that half of his face is illuminated by the sun
Whereas the other half is left in the dark signifying Teddy's buried real personality even unknowingly States his main goal the entire story
This phim returns multiple times and comes to Climax when Andrew's face is fully illuminated and has finally accepted reality as it is
Oh, and did you noticed that little bandaid on his forehead? Now that's gone here too indicating that he's no longer covering up his
wounded personality oh and remember that part where Chuck is praising [Teddy] the man alleged
I give you that notice that the legend also explains that Teddy's personality is not real, but just a made-up story
But the most important theme of all to be found in the opening scene is a substance that both literally and figuratively
Keeps his scene of flow
water so at the end of the story is revealed that Andrews wife drowned two children in the Lake.That's why Teddy is so
nauseated by water and like a psychological practice steadiest slowly
But surely put an [increasing] contact with water and so he ultimately comes close to his drama as possible
By diving into the sea, but Teddy's physical appearance and demeanor also changed dramatically during the film
He starts his journey with a rather collected and no-nonsense attitude towards the world, but as the story progresses
He slowly stripped from the things that make him who he is. First, his gun.
Then his clothes. Then his attitude and ultimately his entire made-up self as I stated earlier
Andrew came up with Teddy's persona only because he was unable to deal with the violence and guilt that he's had to endure in
his life
This sort of cyclical nature of violence and cruelty that is part of humanity and in which he actively pursue Cos
What ultimately drove Andrew into insanity no matter how much he denies it
Carly thinks you're harmless that you can be controlled, but I know different
You don't know me. Oh, but I do don't know or I know you
We've known each other for centuries
Also notice that the Sadistic Warden is a name on purpose because warden is an anagram for
Andrew and there are more of these anagrams to be found as its shown by Dr.
Collie at Climax of the Story
Though he fails to explain the name of Teddys Faith partner Chuck Aule who turns out to [be] the mysterious, Dr.
Nian until the us Marshals office that he's a defense mechanism surprise motherfucker
because fanatically chuck Aule sounds a lot like chuckle which in turn indicates his characters role as gesture or
Trickster within the realm of story as a whole.These type of companion characters are known for their [mischief] and their
Motivation to push the [protagonists] interchange, and that only does chuck tricked Teddy into believing that he is his partner
But he also has an active interest in helping Andrew to accept reality as it is life makes me wonder
Yeah, what's that boss?
Which would be worse...
To live as a monster
Or to die as a good man?
And to me this is the magic and brilliance of shutter island it knows its purpose and making the audience
Identify fully with a fake character and arguably manages to make us just as delusional as Andrew himself
On top of that it gives us a fascinating look into the psychology of this tragic character trauma and the nature of reality
It shows us just how powerful our minds can be and that perspective really is everything
because when we fully align to the point of view or certain belief
We sometimes fail to see the truth even if it's laid out right in front of her eyes
Right all right all right. Thank you guys so much for watching man
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