i. Shutter Island is a psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal investigating a psychiatric facility on a remote island. ii. Though initially presented as a detective mystery, the film becomes increasingly surreal and ambiguous, twisting expectations through plot twists. Teddy, the protagonist, has flashbacks providing insight into his traumatic background. iii. The film's marketing website enhances audience understanding through additional information, videos, and an immersive design that draws viewers in and advertises the disturbing isolated setting of the island.

1. Case Study- Shutter Island
i ShutterIslandisa psychological Thrillerfilm, directedby
Martin Scorsese and writtenbyLaeta Kalogridis.Itisproducedby
ParamountPictures,Phoenix PicturesandSikeliaProductions.It
was filmedinthe USA,and releasedon12th
March 2010 (UK).The
filmhasgrossedan estimate total of $293 million, makingit
Scorsese’smostsuccessful filmyet. LeonardoDiCaprioandMark
Ruffalostarin thisfilmadaptationof DennisLehanes’novel,of the
same name. Surprisingly,the filmwasonlynominatedforone
award,TeenChoice,Horror/Thriller,despite the majorityof
audience receptionbeingpositive. The bookwasalsowell received
as a novel,anaward winningauthorwhoisalsoknownforwriting
some of the episodesof TheWire, a popularAmericanTV drama
series.
ii ShutterIsland wasoriginallymeanttobe releasedinthe USon Octoberthe 2nd
, however
due to Paramountbeingunsure aboutthe economyatthat time,theypushedthe release date back
to February19th
, inthe hope that the adultaudience will be ina
betterfinancial situation.The film hashadmixedresponsesfrom
criticsand audiences,althoughmostare positive.RottenTomatoes
criticsgave it a Freshscore of 6.6/10, while IMDbgave it a score of
8/10, as thischart shows,fromthe IMDb website,thatalmost95% of
usersvotedthe filmasbeingover5 stars out of 10.
Thisbar chart, also fromIMDb, showsthat actuallyunder
18 year oldmaleswere the voterstogive the highest
ratings.Overall,people agedbetweenu-18and29 gave the
highestscores,the lowestscoresbeinggivenbyTop1000
voters,people aged45+,and Men aged45+.
JohnPuccioof DVDtown.comsaid‘acreepypsychological
thriller...shortonpsychology,characterization,suspense,
tension,orthrills.’Howeverthe majorityof critics’ reviews
are mostlypositive,asone critic,AndreaChase of Killer
Movie Reviewssays‘Scorsesedeliversthe tensionfromfirstframe tolastwitha deliberatelylow-key
moodthat amps upthe eeriness.Itimbueseventhe mostbenignactionswithasinisterambiguity.’
Critical Outcastsaid‘It isgorgeousto lookat,fascinatingtoabsorb andwill keepyouguessing.Thisis
a filmmade bya directorwhoknowsexactlywhathe isdoingandwithan actor who keepsgetting
better.Thisisnot to be missed.’

2. iii ShutterIslandhasitsown independentwebsite,featuringvideos,informationaboutthe
film,directorandactors, and downloads.Italsohasa linkthat allowsyoubuythe filmdirectlyoff
the internet.Thishasdefinitelyincreasedaudience knowledge of the filmbecauseitallowspeople
to getextrainformationabout,andthe website isdesignedinaway thatmakesyou want to see the
film.Thisisa screenshotof the website,andasyou can see,ithas the filmtrailerplaying
automaticallywhenyougotothe website inone corner.Itis advertisingthe DVDof the filmin
another,andhas several linksthatallowyoutonavigate
aroundthe website. The backgroundisananimatedversionof the officialfilmposter,makingit
easilyreferable andrecognisable,withthe special featureof the fogmovingslowlyacrossthe
screen,the lighthouselightrotatinground,asif searchingforsomething(orsomeone,asthe tagline
suggests‘Someoneismissing’) andthe candlelightflickeringacrossDiCaprio’sface.Thismakesthe
well knownposterimage more exclusivetothe website,alsocreatinganeerie effect,andalso
conformingto thrillerconventionsof darknessandshadows.DiCaprioisalsoportrayedasa
detective,insinuatinghe ispossiblyahero,ora good character,a personalitytypealsoof the thriller
convention. The website hassoundeffectsof the sea,washingagainst rocks.The seamovementis
quite heavy,suggestingitisveryrough,andaddedwiththe picture of the isolatedisland,we getthe
impressionthatitisveryhard to leave the island.
iv As the filmopens,we are ledtobelieve thatthisfilmisnomore thanan entertaining
detective mysteryfilm.Howeverasthe filmcontinues,itbeginstogetmore andmore surreal,
dramaticand unsolved.We are ledtobelieveone storyfromthe start of the film, yetlaterthisis
turnedon itsheadas we don’tknowwhat to believe.The filmhasmostlytraditional thriller
characters (althoughthischangeslaterinthe film) We have the Hero,Teddy,andhisassistant
Chuck,whichlaterinthe filmwe wonderif he isinfact a double agent,
inon the conspiracyof the island.The victimchanges,yetatthe
beginningof the film, we thinkitisRachel,butas the filmdevelopsour
perceptionchangessympathytowardsTeddy.Cawleyseemsthe bad
character, butis laterto be revealedasa goodcharacter. We also
thinkthat Laeddisisthe psychopathcharacter,althoughitisrevealedthathe doesnotexist.Teddy’s
wife canbe speculatedon,asshe seemstobe a guidance character.ShutterIslandfeaturesseveral
plottwists,a typical thrillertheme.The filmalsohasmanythrillersymbols,suchasshadows,bars&
entrapment,isolationandrural location,there isalsoashowerscene inwhichthe cameralooksup
at the showerasthe wateris running,notdissimilartothe famousone in Psycho. Runningwateris
alsoa typical thrillertheme,signifyingdangerandtime runningout.

3. The narrative ismostlylinear,althoughthe maincharacterTeddyoftenhas very shortflashbacks,
whichdevelopintoastoryof whenhe was a soldierduringthe war,whichisexplainedfullyaround
halfwaythroughthe filmwhenhe tellsChuck.There isalsoanotherflashbackrightatthe endwhich
explainswhatreallyhappenedtoTeddyandhiswife.Thisstructure definitelystrengthensthe film,
as it givesthe audience aninsighttoTeddy’sbackgroundsowe canunderstandhimduringthe rest
of the film.
The two characters at the backare wearing traditional detective
clothes;suit & tie, hats, and long beige overcoats. Withthese costumes,
we automaticallyknow what their professionis, and therefore assume
theyare good characters. Theyare mostlywearing light colours, which
in the Thriller genre we see as being Good, except the man onthe left,
who is wearinga darksuit, possiblymeaning he is not all good, and has
something to hide. The manin front is wearing a securityguard
uniform, which althoughis alsoa darkcolour, we know themto
generallybe goodcharacters.
The highbrickwalls
surroundingthe
characters show that
theyare prettymuch
trapped. There is a big
gate at the entrance,
possiblythe onlywayin
or out, we can faintly
see barbedwire on top
of the wall inthe far
right corner of the
picture. The lackof
sceneryaround them,
just one tree, a car
(which is oldfashioned,
signifying time period)
and also if we look at
the gate behindthe
characters, all we can
see is the overcast sky,
giving us the impression
that there is no world
outside these tall brick
walls.
The characters seem to be approaching
what theyare walking towards with
warilyexpression ontheir faces. They
seemto be walkingcautiously, while the
securityguardis striding withanair of
authority. We know that the hierarchy
of the police force that detectives are
above securityguards, yet inthis image
it seems that inthis place the guardhas
more control. We start to questionthe
systemof the institution where theyare,
as the combination ofthe highwallsand
lack of authoritymakes these characters
very venerable.