The opening sequence of Shutter Island establishes the film's themes of mystery and imprisonment through its visuals and audio. It begins with text over a black screen accompanied by unsettling string music. The camera then reveals a ship emerging through dense fog, hinting at uncertainty and suspense. On board the ship, a character is seen being sick near chains, suggesting the story will involve prisoners. The main character Teddy is then introduced in a bathroom, appearing unwell. Later scenes feature chains, handcuffs and muted colors that connote jail. Teddy and another character talk on the deck, establishing them as counterparts. A flashback reveals Teddy's wife may be dead, supported by her bare feet and red nails. The opening

1. Analysing the Shutter IslandOpening Sequence.
The filmopenswithablack screenwithtextsettingthe scene whichwouldhave beeneditedinupon
post-production.Toaccompanythisthere isthe audiofromthe clipfollowingit tohelpthe
continuitygoingfromablack screentovideo.The chordal stringsplayingwiththisaudioover
“BostonHarbour Islands1954” maysuggestthat it’snota nice place to be at thistime as string
instrumentslikethe onesusedcanconnote tosadnessortrouble.
The screen fadesfromblackintoanotherblankscreenfromwhicha shipemerges.Bygoingfrom
blackto a foggyestablishingshotthe cutseemsmore seamlessratherthanfadingintoa more
colourful setting.Before the shipisapparent,whatwe non-diegetichornsaspart of the music
become seeminglymore diegeticonce the shipisrevealed althoughunapparent.Thisuncertainty
bothaudioand visually(due tothe fog) createsasuspenseful atmospherearoundourcharacters.
We thencut to inside the shipwithawide shotand the same audiofromthe seaaidingcontinuity.
We can see someone beingsickwhose headisobscuredbyadoorwayinan ambientlitroom.By
placingchainsinthisshot as well asreinforcingthiswiththe soundof themhittingtogether,the
directorisclarifyingthe scene isdefiantlyonthe shipandpossiblyhintingatconnotationsof
prisoners - a theme thatcontinuesthroughoutthe film.We thencuttoinside the bathroomwhere
we are introducedtoour maincharacter withanover shouldershotin whichTeddyisframedinthe
mirror.We soonlearnthat Teddyisnot ina goodwayshownthroughhiscostume of a loosenedtie
and make up showinghowill he is.Teddyreferstohimself inthe third personandindoingsothe
audience learnshisname. BypreviouslyframingTeddyinamirrorfor the audience,the directoris
laterable (ataround 50 seconds) toplace the audience inthe mirror inorder toset up a close upin
whichthe fourthwall isbroken (teddycanlooktowardsthe camera).In doingsothe audience isable
to empathise withTeddywhichisaidedby the shottype to show emotion.
We thencut to anotherroomfilledwithchainsandhandcuffsina blue tonedroomfromwhichthe
onlywarmthcreatediscomingfrom a small yellow light.Thisagainconnotestothe audience that
jails/prisonersare a keyaspectinthe filmas thisisthe secondtime somethinghashintedatit.The
camera thenfollowsTeddynowinabeige coatwhichfitswiththe monochrome aestheticof the
scene andcan showhislinktosomethinginvolvingcrime - judgingbyhiscostume,adetective.Once
Teddyisoutside,we see awide shotshowinganothercharacterwho,like Teddy,isinitiallyobscured
as he is facingthe wrongway. He is shownbehind achain-linkfence whichagainconnotestojail.
We soonsee anotherwide shotbywhichthe new characteris stoodbalancedandstable while
Teddyisjuxtaposedagainsthimstandinghunchedoverandgrippingthe railsforbalance tocreate a
contrast presentingthisnew characteras Teddy’s counterpart.We thenfollow the sloweditingpace
while the twotalkinwhichwe learnmore aboutour characters, all the while the hornscontinue to
playthe same note creatingsuspense causingthe audiencetothinkthatthere istrouble ahead.
Before the flashback the musicbeginstochange while continuing tobe suspenseful anduneasyfor
the audience.The hornswhichindicate dramaanda new addition of operaticvoicescome inandthe
colourgradingcompletelychangestohave muchmore warmyellow huessetwithhighkeylighting,
contrastingthe boat.Using the dialogue “Iwas”whentalkingabouthiswife createssuspicionthat
theyare eitherdivorcedorshe isdead.Theninthe close upof the couplesfeetinthe flashbackwe
see the ladywearingbare feetandrednail polish.Thisiswhere itbecomesmore obviousthatshe
couldbe deadas bare feetcan connote tobeingvulnerable andthe boldcolourredisa clear
indicatorof danger.The editingpace alsopicksup dramaticallyinthe flashbackto buildmore faced
pacedsuspense andunsettlementforthe audience.We thensee analternationfromthe flashback
to the sea andrepeatingthisagainquicklytoshow thatsomethingiscomingtoan end,inthiscase

2. the flashback itself andthe wife (hence whythe shotwe alternate betweenwasaclose up if her
face).Thisissimplyfollowedby“she died”clarifyingthe audience’ssuspicion.Whenwe returnback
to the boat we againsee the monochrome colouringwithTeddyin the foregroundindicatinghe’s
the most importantcharacterand settingthe filmup.