Shutter Island (2010) opening sequence analysis

Shutter Island (2010): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Writer:
Laeta Kalogridis (Screenplay)
Dennis Lehane (Novel)
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Emily Mortimer
Mark Ruffalo

Shutter Island is a thriller set in 1954 about an up and coming US marshal, Teddy Daniels, who is assigned to investigate the dissapearance of a patient from the isolated Shutter Island psychiatric hospital. Teddy Daniels becomes suspicious of the hospital when they deny him access to their medical records which he believes will help him solve the case. All communications from the island are then cut off after a hurricane which leads to more dangerous criminals escaping from their cells as more clues into the case begin to appear. After a while on the island, Teddy begins to question everything in his life and begins to lose his sanity.
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The movie commences with a dark black background, and the words 'BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS 1954'. This immediately sets the period of time the movie is set in and the location of where the events take place. This gives the audience a better idea of what to expect throughout the course of the movie. The sound of water swashing is heard in the background which gives the impression that the movie begins somewhere at sea.

At 0:12, the scene cuts to a foggy/misty area. The sound of a ships horn is heard which further indicates that the opening setting is located somewhere at sea. The fog adds mystery and leaves the audience in a state of confusion since nothing is visible and you can not see what is coming next, this could be a trend throughout the movie since the theme of mystery and not knowing what is going to happen next is a common theme throughout many of Martin Scorcese's movies.

At 0:19, a ship becomes visible breaking through the fogand the sea becomes more visible. This confirms that the first scene takes place at sea and gives the audience a better idea of what is going on at the beginning of this movie.

At  0:30, a man is shown being sick in his bathroom on the ship. It is clear to the audience that he will be the main character throughout the movie since he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is an extremely recognisable actor to many people. The man says to himiself in the mirror in a rather distressed manor "pull yourself together Teddy". This reveals that the mans name is Teddy and implies that he is seasick and is attempting to get himself sorted so that he doesn't look a fool to others on the ship. The low lighting in the room adds a dark atmosphere and foreshadows that the storyline to this movie is going to be a rather dark one.

In the next shot Teddy is shown stumbling out of his room, he is dressed in a formal way which gives the impression that he is some sort of detective. He looks extremely unwell which suggests that he dislikes travelling on boats and hates the sea.

At 1:16,a new character is introduced to the movie who greets Teddy with the phrase "you okay boss?". This shows that Teddy is in charge of whatever is happening and that he is a powerful person. Teddy then states that "he can't stomach the water" which confirms that he doesn't like travelling across water and is prone to becoming seasick.

The man then refers to Teddy as a "legend" from what he'd heard in Seattle. Teddy replies with "What the hell you boys been smoking", this shows that Teddy is a modest man who doesn't boast about himself but also has a very good reputation amongst others.

At 2:01, Teddy is asked by the man if he "has a girl" which triggers a flashback to a shot of Teddy and his girlfriend. Teddy reveals that she died min a fire, this makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the protagonist in this movie and makes hima more popular character. In this shot Teddy looks much healthier and younger, this could be showing that since his girlfriend passed away, his health has declined and the stress he's been under has led to him ageing at a much faster rate.