Shutter Island -Opening Analysis

Shutter Island is a physcological thriller staring Leonardo Di Caprio as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. marshal who is assigned to investigate a missing patient from the mental institution on shutter island. As a hurricane brews it is unsafe to return to the mainland therefore cutting them off from the rest of civilisation. As more patients continue to escape, Teddy begins to doubt everything, his partner, his memory and even his own sanity.

The opening shot is a blank screen, and slowly a boat emerges from the mist. By very first thing we see being nothing, the audience will be disorientated and question what’s happening, where they are, what time period it is, etc etc. when the boat does appear through the mist, the music kicks in. The weather, along with the low toned orchestral music, sets the scene as a dark, ominous, miserable day. This furthermore could also be a forecast for the future events that happen in the film.

When Teddy and his partner Chuck arrive at the island they are greeted by Deputy Warden McPherson, who runs through all the rules, regs and occurrences at the mental institute, he then also jokes amongst it all that in such a serious matter that “you would think the insanity is catchy” then laughing about it. To audience this alone would see seem out of the ordinary and strange to even be able to joke about insanity amongst the insane.

We are then shown inside the grounds of the mental institute. The camera pans for an establishing shot to give a sense of setting, whilst doing so we are introduced to the patients, they are shown wearing shackles which to anyone suggests that they are prisoner, and perhaps highly dangerous. As the camera continues to pan around and show us what Teddy is seeing, we come to a woman, who we can instantly get an impression of some sort of importance as the diegetic and non-diegetic sound beings to fade.

The shot itself displays her ‘craziness’ firstly, by the composition, she is shot off centre, which is unusual unless there is a focal point behind her, which, there is not. It also shown through her appearance, she, like the others, has shackles around her hands and legs, her hair is very sparse, with clumps missing, this will make audiences wonder how she’s lost it. She also looks very old and fragile with ghost like pale skin and deep set wide eyes, furthermore her eyes are also looking straight into the camera, this is an unusual shot in movies, but it is a point of view shot from Teddy’s perception. As an audience, this will be uncomforting as it feels she’s looking at you.

As Teddy walks into the first building of the institute camera shots go to close ups of the locks and alarms, this adds a sense of claustrophobia, and could moreover add to the forecasting of future events like earlier that there is no way out.

 

Low and high angles are also commonly used throughout the opening scenes to make us as the audience feel belittled by what or who ever is on screen, this shows where the authority lies in the film. Finally non-diegetic music is used frequently, this helps to build tension and add to scenes, the tempo of the music is increased with the climax which emphasis things for the audience to give ‘an on the edge of your seat’ moment.  

Movie Trailer

Snatch was released in 2000, it's a thriller directed by Guy Ritchie

and this clip displays the trailer.

Summer Work

Suspense, anticipation and excitement are the main elements of the genre; thriller. Thriller films tend to be villain driven, fast paced and full of adrenaline. Such as Kill Bill, The Bourne Trilogy, Batman etc. Camera work in thrillers is largely close ups. By having close ups of either peoples faces or perhaps a weapon helps to build suspense in a scene. Tracking and pan shots are also used, this helps to display a certain group or particular person that the audience should be interested in, i.e. a hero or villain. When it comes to editing the camera shots taken, thrillers tend to have rapid straight cuts where action scenes in the film take place. The fast pace action scenes increase the gritty excitement for the audience. Settings for thrillers can vary but they tend to be set in modern day city/town life and show society in a dark and dangerous way such as The Dark Knight is set in Gotham City for example. The Characters in thriller movies always consist of a ‘baddie’ whether they be a stalker, drug dealer, villain, characters with dark pasts, psychopaths or ex con.  Therefore a thriller cannot be completed without a form of hero either, maybe a police man, someone is disguise, your ‘every day man’ with a some form of previous training etc. These Characters are then put in the plot of good vs. evil however that is displayed and ends happily with good overcoming bad.

Still Analysis

Batman, The Dark Knight

 

This still shows a mid shot with Gordon looking up at the Bat-Signal late at night on a roof top. Gordons body language shows authority, by his stance and furthermore crossing his arms. The crossing of the arms could also be a sign of anticipation, perhaps waiting for Batman to arrive. Gordons authority is also displayed through his clothing, a black, crisp suit and, as we know in the film the character Gordon is a police commissioner which would also show is power/authority. This shot follows the golden mean, which shows the two points of interest being Gordon and the Bat-Signal. The lighting also connotes the Bat-Signal as a point of interest, as the brightest thing in the shot, with everything else being in almost darkness it creates a tense atmosphere as to what will happen in dark of night. The setting for this scene is on a rooftop and by the background we can tell that it’s in a city due to the sky scrapers. The overall mise-en-scene of the shot shows a powerful and modern 21^st century city.

 

This still displays a mid shot of Bruce Wayne (batman) in the bat cave with his batman outfit in the background. Bruce’s face looks tense and stern here, from this and his hands being in his pockets the audience will feel that his body language emotes anger, and perhaps plotting. Furthermore, this shot shows Bruce Wayne as being very dominate. This is portrayed firstly through his appearance, he wears a sharp, smart business suit and his hair is neatly combed back. Secondly, the camera angle. By filming this at a low angle, it gives the impression of power, as if the subject is looking down at the audience. Finally the dominance is also shown through Bruce’s stance; standing tall with shoulders back gives the impression of confidence.

This still also uses the golden mean, with Bruce Wayne and the batman suit being the two main points of interest, moreover, these two points of interest are noticed even more so by the audience due the simplistic setting. This scene is set in the bat cave which is a secret underground ‘base’ for batman. It has the feeling of being very modern and possibly futuristic with bright light lighting throughout and extremely minimalist, an empty concrete room with gadgets rising up from the floor. The whole mise-en-scene of this still is a cliché superhero feel but in society today.

 

This still is an extreme close up shot of some wire, this particular scene in the dark knight consists of an action packed brawl between the joker and batman himself in which this wire is tied across the main road between two office blocks in the middle of the city to tangle up to on-coming helicopter. This shot is affective because the camera only focuses on the wire to catch the audience’s attention, although the bright search light from helicopter is in the background, with dimmer lights from the cars below. This therefore increases the intensity for the audience as they can tell what is coming and the anticipation creates and ‘on the edge of your seat’ moment.

 

This long shot shows the back of a guy in the centre of Gotham City. The mise-en-scene of the still has a suspicious ore, with the character clothed in all black and using props such as a large bag and creepy looking clown mask. Furthermore this is displayed through the characters body language, with his back towards to audience so we cannot see his face or know his identity. This shot uses the rule of thirds, with the points of interest being the character and the props in his hands. The setting of this scene is in the city, shown by busy streets, skyscrapers and main roads. The lighting in this shot shows a nice sunny day, but with the darker shadowing of the character this increases the suspiciousness of him almost literally being ‘on the dark side’.

  

This still displays a long shot of the joker in dark night of the city with a gun. In this scene the audience see’s an action packed brawl between the joker and batman. The angle of the camera is low and looking up at the joker, this shows power. Power is also shown through the props used in this still. The joker holds a large gun which is a powerful weapon (which is used against batman) during the fight. Moreover, the joker’s body language seems to be very tense, walking stiffly and fast, walking with meaning. This shot also uses the rule of thirds, with the main point of interest being the joker with the gun. Furthermore the lack of lighting is ominous, with the scene filmed at night and very little street lighting. You can also see from this still that the scene is set on a main road in Gotham City, by setting this on the main road the audience will know straight away that it will cause havoc (because of commuters etc) also, with the buildings being large, grand and made from stone this could be a reference to the fight commencing.