Comments on: Shutter Island On Top Of The World

By: realskullzero

realskullzero — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:13:34 +0000

Agre3e 100% with kyriacos, this was one of the best movies that would leave you hanging…and trying to guess what happened in the end. I also choose to belive the part where Leo was made insance. it got more twist and really makes question reality and illusion…

By: kyriacos

kyriacos — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:21:40 +0000

Filmjunk grammar-Nazi committee does not accept your apologies..

By: Slix

Slix — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:11:56 +0000

Apologies to the grammar police. I’m a bit tired and getting loose with my apostrophies apparently.

By: Slix

Slix — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:10:19 +0000

Meh, I still think the twist was cheap. By placing doubt on Leo’s sanity at the end (or wherever you “got it”) then making it so he has hallucinations, you can put anything you want in as a director. Did he really see his partner’s body? Did you? Was it the partner faking it? Who know’s? Effectively, every scene in the movie could have been occuring only in Leo’s head and when those scenes include his wife drowning/turning to ash in his arms, all bet’s are off.
I do want to watch this again though. Having only seen it once, I feel like I didn’t give it a complete chance.

By: Marc

Marc — Sat, 22 May 2010 23:56:00 +0000

I thought Shutter Island was and awesome cinematic experience and I for one am happy for Martin Scorsese!

By: kyriacos

kyriacos — Sat, 22 May 2010 10:31:44 +0000

Even Dennis Lehane though in an interview stated that “it was never one thing with Shutter island”.

“I was so furious about the patriot act”, he said, “and I wanted to write a book also about Mind depression Cause this is where i think we are going as a Country”..

He also stated that there are 3 different ways of reading the book and both the Graphic novel adaption and the movie, although they keep the essence of the book, they are artistically free to do whatever they want with it…

By: kyriacos

kyriacos — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:19:13 +0000

Scorsese is not the kind of director who cares to be loyal to a book of another artist..
He got inspired by it and then did his thing..
And its not the first time he did so..
I guess all of our questions will be solved with the commentary..

By: sani

sani — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:37:06 +0000

you guys analyzed too much. i think this film is the same as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari .

By: Itchy-Finger

Itchy-Finger — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:11:46 +0000

Interesting kyriacos, I didn’t get your view at all when I finished watching. I’ve only seen it once, so I’ll be sure to think about your points when it comes out on DVD.
Funny enough the whole time I was watching it I didn’t see Leo as the crazy one, so I was surprised by the twist that occurred. The entire time I believed the doctor to be a liar, but my mind was changed at the end.
Maybe that means I’m a pessimist? Thanks for the specific examples, it does make me think, damn when does this come out on DVD?

By: kyriacos

kyriacos — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:09:49 +0000

well itchy-Finger, In my opinion this is a classic case of an abrupt end in where you have to choose what to believe or not.

Martin sort of did this again with “Last temptation of Christ”. And also in Taxi Driver where In the last glimpse Travis appears like he is seeing something on his Rear View Mirror.. One can assume that everything was just a fantasy of Travis.. a fantasy that was mumbling about in the entire movie..

In ”Once upon a time in America” Sergio Leone, did something similar,with his final scene. One might say that the entire movie was just an opium dream.

IN Children of men you have to choose whether Human Project actually existed or not..

In any of those cases the movie does not clears 100% one way or the other.

And thats the greatness of it..
You have the freedom to Choose what to believe,
..I choose to believe in what i believe is the most awesome scenario of all..
(But yours is fine too).. *not yours matt

In Shutter island there are many little things that practically reveal that the doctor was planning to drove Leo Crazy right from the start in order not to be exposed. There are some scenes in the movie that ONLY make sense if we accept the fact that Leo was not Crazy at the beginning. Like the fact that he was carrying a REAL GUN. (??)
Since we are experiencing the movie through Leo’s eyes we also see his illusions, thoughts and fantasies.

Furthermore at the very end we discover that all those rumored things that Leo was there to investigate.. actually existed!
So the Doctor had a GREAT motive to drove Leo Crazy..
And if he Did, Really how can we say otherwise?, For example: If a doctor told you, you were crazy and you shouted ”NO NO I AM NOT!!” .. Who are the judges- the audience most likely going to believe? You (the crazy Guy) or the Doctor? What if you Truly were not Crazy and the ruthless crazy Doctor was just trying to save his ass from going to Jail?/ Back in those days, where Psychology was treated like actual science, Psychologist were also treated like Gods. Up until Dr.Something (I cannot remember his name) proved that you can actually fool a psychologist to the point where he tries to send you in an asylum. There are recorded cases. Why not in Shutter island?

And finally pardon me, but I don’t believe that Marty chose the doctor to look like the ultimate crazy nazidoctor cliche for no reason..

makes you think right?

By: Itchy-Finger

Itchy-Finger — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:32:07 +0000

What I gathered from the movie and do tell me if I’m wrong here, but Leo is a patient and they were trying to fix him or snap him out of his role-playing. It worked this time, but at the end Leo decided that he didn’t want to live knowing the truth so he pretended to continue the role-playing in order to be taken out of reality for good. Or am I missing something?

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:23:46 +0000

@ Kyriacos yea most people knew pretty early on that Leo was crazy but I do know people that didn’t realise he was a patient there until near the end.