analysis of shutter island

Shot 1

We are introduced with a long shot of a boat it is positioned in the centre so all the attention is drawn to it and the fact that everything is surrounded by cloud we can only make out the ship. The ship looks military styled and the shot is straight on.. The scene gives off a sense of isolation with it being the only thing in sight. There is also a steady beat through out the whole opening sequence, yet again military like and a non diegetic crackling sound which is quiet faint.

Shot 2.
This is a long shot of the detective, yet even though he's in the centre, he's not what grabs our attention as he's out of focus whilst the shackle and chains aboard the ship are. The sound of chains clanking also empathises the chains and shackles making an uneasy atmosphere. The lack of light also gives a sinister feel to the scene with only a few windows aboard the ship, leaving the audience feeling imprisoned.

Shot 3

This is a medium shot of the two characters we're first introduced to. The new character is the centre of our attention whilst the character we have encountered before is slightly to the left, making the audience focus on the new person. Mise-en-scene suggest that the two people are detectives as they're both dressed in trench coats, hats, and suits and one of the "detectives" has a plaster on their head, giving a sense of danger. There is also a cage like background when it swaps from each characters point of view , this adds to the prison like uneasy feeling of the scene.

Shot 4.

This shot is a close up of the man and woman in shot, it is a different scene to the one on the ship and is a flashback, which is known by the use of light as there's a fade to white before the scene and after as it goes back to the ship. The two people are both central, so they're equally important yet, the woman has more light on her so the audience are more attracted to the woman. Yet again the light also changes the atmosphere as its brighter and more colourful making a happier atmosphere. The scene shows a tie being put on the man ( who's the detective) and when it flashes between the two scenes the audience realise that he's wearing the tie meaning that he cant let go of the past and that his past has a significance in the movie. The only sound is the opera music and crackling sound, which is then interrupted by the crashing of waves and then back to the woman for a brief time. The waves crashing could symbolise the end to the woman's life.

Shot 5.

In shot 5 its an establishing long shot of the pier on the island. The island looks isolated and uninhabitable with the mountains and rough terrain, making the audience think that its not a very nice place to live. On the actual pier there is hanging poles where people get hung and police wardens are roaming around which gives a very hostile feeling to the island which is added to by the darkness and bad weather. Pathetic fallacy is used here, reflecting the bad weather on the atmosphere in the scene. The steady music that has been going on throughout the opening section is now sped up, building tension as the boat approaches the island.


Overall moving sequence: The sequence works well together as it opens up the characters yet still leaves the audience speculating about each character and about the island. there isn't a huge variety of angle's as most of the shots are just straight on, except for the over the shoulder shots. and one point of view shot. The music is steady throughout the scene and the tension is built up through this way, as by the end it starts speeding up.