Shutter Island

Wow, I expected a good movie, but this movie really exceeded my expectations. It was a totally different movie than I expected.

For those of you who've seen it:

Click to see Spoiler:

Is it supposed to be implied that DiCaprio's character was actually NOT insane at the very end, but just acted like he was so he could be lobotomized and lose all memory of him killing his wife after she killed their children, because he couldn't bare the truth (hence him making up all those people and convincing himself that he's a US Marshall, etc)? That's how I interpreted it but I understand the end is kind of left up for interpretation. The last thing he said to his psychiatrist/"partner" is what solidifies my interpretation, but I'm curious as to what others think.

I don't believe that he faked the entire thing, just that their experiment did "heal/cure" him once he faced the truth. However, he didn't want to live with the knowledge or what his wife did to his children or what he did to his wife, so he led them to believe he was still delusional. This way, they would lobotomize him. That's what his last comment...that he'd rather die as a good man than live as a monster....meant to me.

I haven't read the book, so all I knew was what I'd seen on trailers for the movie. Going in, I thought it was something of a psychological horror flick and expected to have the life scared out of me. :lol It was so not that way. Great movie that now has me wanting to read the book to fill in the rest of the story. And man, little Leo DiCaprio sure has grown up! :biglove

My husband didn't love the movie as much as I did...he thought it was all very random, referring to Teddy's flashbacks/dreams. His review..."it was like Eyes Wide Shut, but without nudity." I don't know what movie he was watching. I'm convinced he must have dozed off a couple times and that's why he was confused. :D

Oh yeah, I didn't mean to say he faked the entire thing, but just at the very end. My bad if it came off that way :lol

I honestly think that the people who didn't like the movie that much are the ones who didn't "get" it :lol

Did anybody catch the water scene with him interviewing patients? Where the woman asked for a glass of water? Her hand "cupped" a glass of water but her hand was actually empty, but then it showed her setting down an empty glass on the table after taking a drink. I think there were a lot of "tricks" like this in the movie that give hints to the audience that this was all a psychological experiment.

Also, some of the cut scenes in his dreams of Dolores were really sloppy--which I think were purposefully done, just to show the kind of "imbalance" going on DiCaprio's head.

It's been quite a while since I read the book, but I remember that I was very annoyed by how confusing and convoluted a line the story took. I can imagine it being a much better movie than book.

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Originally Posted by BritLit;3834172;

It's been quite a while since I read the book, but I remember that I was very annoyed by how confusing and convoluted a line the story took. I can imagine it being a much better movie than book.

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It was the only book of his I read that I really did not like. For very similar reasons.
I do think, though, that Scorcese is such a good director that he could manage to pull it off.

I thought this was a good movie-I never read the book and I was pleasantly surprised because I thought by the previews that I would be scared out of my mind, but it was more disturbing and sad than scary. The ending was not a complete surprise--I remember thinking pretty early on that DiCaprio's character was needing some psychiatric help himself. I also saw that in the flashback's Dolores had a wound in her abdomen--pretty odd for someone who had supposedly burned in a fire. I also wondered why he seemed more personally involved than normal of Rachel Solando's supposedly killing her children, which made sense at the end since it was his children he didn't save and who were killed and when he held and comforted "rachel" is was almost like his wife. I think in the end the experiment did work, but since he couldn't cope with being Andrew Laeddis and living with the knowledge of what he did or what his wife did or how he failed his wife and kids, he led them to believe he was still delusional so he could be lobotomized and forget. He walked purposely towards the psychiatrists and the orderlies with the instruments as if he knew what would happen and wanted it--otherwise they would have had to wrestle him into a straight jacket first.

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Originally Posted by Starbucks880;3845973;

I thought this was a good movie-I never read the book and I was pleasantly surprised because I thought by the previews that I would be scared out of my mind, but it was more disturbing and sad than scary. The ending was not a complete surprise--I remember thinking pretty early on that DiCaprio's character was needing some psychiatric help himself. I also saw that in the flashback's Dolores had a wound in her abdomen--pretty odd for someone who had supposedly burned in a fire. I also wondered why he seemed more personally involved than normal of Rachel Solando's supposedly killing her children, which made sense at the end since it was his children he didn't save and who were killed and when he held and comforted "rachel" is was almost like his wife. I think in the end the experiment did work, but since he couldn't cope with being Andrew Laeddis and living with the knowledge of what he did or what his wife did or how he failed his wife and kids, he led them to believe he was still delusional so he could be lobotomized and forget. He walked purposely towards the psychiatrists and the orderlies with the instruments as if he knew what would happen and wanted it--otherwise they would have had to wrestle him into a straight jacket first.

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And I also was struck by Dolores and water in his dreams, which also seemed to make sense as repressed memories of drowning--an excellent movie--I want to read the book now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Starbucks880;3845973;

I thought this was a good movie-I never read the book and I was pleasantly surprised because I thought by the previews that I would be scared out of my mind, but it was more disturbing and sad than scary. The ending was not a complete surprise--I remember thinking pretty early on that DiCaprio's character was needing some psychiatric help himself. I also saw that in the flashback's Dolores had a wound in her abdomen--pretty odd for someone who had supposedly burned in a fire. I also wondered why he seemed more personally involved than normal of Rachel Solando's supposedly killing her children, which made sense at the end since it was his children he didn't save and who were killed and when he held and comforted "rachel" is was almost like his wife. I think in the end the experiment did work, but since he couldn't cope with being Andrew Laeddis and living with the knowledge of what he did or what his wife did or how he failed his wife and kids, he led them to believe he was still delusional so he could be lobotomized and forget. He walked purposely towards the psychiatrists and the orderlies with the instruments as if he knew what would happen and wanted it--otherwise they would have had to wrestle him into a straight jacket first.

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How you interpreted everything is exactly how I interpreted everything :) I love all the little clues the movie left that hinted to the truth; so in reality, there wasn't really a twist to begin with :lol

I had not heard a single thing about the story or plot before I went to go see this, so it was all a bit of a shock.

Click to see Spoiler:

I had pretty effectively figured out after the first half hour that Leo Dicaprio's character was patient 67, but it was just interesting to say the least. The last 15 minutes or so have some of the best editing I have seen in awhile-the simple shot of the lighthouse was all that you needed, along with the shots of the tools in the doctor's hands as they were out in the garden.

Oh, and Sir Ben Kingsley was awesome. That's all I have to say.

I just finally got to see this movie. What a thought provoking movie. I noted that no one who has discussed the movie so far as seemed to think that maybe Edward was the "true" character and that the experiment really was mind control experimentation and not therapy. I noted at the end after he made his statement that sometimes it is better to die a good man than live like a monster as he walked away towards the doctor played by Ben Kingsly that the other "doctor/US Marshall called him Ted and not Andrew. So was he "cured" or controlled. I guess it is up to the individual to decide in their own mind.

I thought visually at the end it was quite stunning to see the hospital with the bright green grass and nice facade compared to the darkness and sense of decay it showed during the rest of the movie.