Naomi's 'shutter island' analysis

Shutter Island

There is a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound at the start of Shutter Island, this makes the scene more interesting because you don’t actually know what sound is non-diegetic and diegetic.

There is a soundtrack which is quite slow in tempo and seems to suggest something threatening because of this, the threatening music carries on throughout most of the first two minutes of the film, which builds tension for the viewer because you don’t know what is going to happen and what to expect throughout the scene.

There is also the sound of waves, which we assume is diegetic sound as a boat emerges from the fog during the scene.

The setting appears to be a boat, as this is what the establishing shot suggests. We then cut to a man standing in a dull blue room with a circular window, typically like what we would connote with boat interiors. The room appears to be quite dirty, and the walls rusty which further supports the idea that he is on a boat. The man exits the first room, he enters a similarly decorated room with handcuffs hanging from the ceiling, which could conveys that they might chain up people in the boat which indicates that the film is set in a time when black people were made to work as slaves in the late 18th century. This location reflects the thriller mood as it comes across with quite a chilling mood & makes the audience think about what they are being presented with.

The first man we see is wearing a light brown suit with a white shirt and a green tie, as he is wearing a suit it could connote that he is of a middle class and he really quite contrasts with the surroundings as he looks out of place in the dirty room. When we meet a second character, he is also similarly dressed and we understand from the dialogue combined with their costume that they are probably detectives of some kind

The first shot we see is an establishing shot, with a boat emerging from the fog. This is quite sinister as it appears out of nowhere. An over the shoulder style close up is used to introduce us to the lead character for the first time. This is interesting as we see how vulnerable he is having previously established he is seasick. This shot allows us to focus on his facial expression and body language. The extract opens with an extreme long shot - used to establish the setting - of mist. At about 00:08 a boat begins to appear amongst the fog.