Shutter Island
Spoiler Alert!
Shutter Island is an early 2000’s thriller, staring Leonardo DiCaprio that has a deeper meaning of mental illness within it. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner (Mark Ruffalo) journey off to Ashecliffe Hospital, a fortressed insane asylum located on a remote island. The two detectives visit the hospital because a woman seems to have escaped from her locked room at dark. As their stay gets longer, they notice that terrible things happen within the walls of the hospitals. Teddy tries multiple times, but he soon realizes he is being tricked and drugged into staying at the asylum. The whole movie gives very uncanny vibes, and it felt like there was a piece missing to the story. The ending of the movie revealed that Teddy, the “detective”, was actually a patient there and the whole movie was him just acting out his fantasy of being a detective.
Teddy Daniels had been a patient at the asylum for many years after killing his wife. He experienced great grief which led him to having a split personality. Throughout the movie he would also see visions of his wife standing in front of and having conversations. Teddy the “detective” was just a person in his head who he truly believed was him.
The topic of doubles is displayed throughout this movie. Teddy’s mental illnesses show the two people he his. His imagination is telling him that he is a detective, but the reality is that he is an ill patient. Doubles can be seen in many movies within Hollywood, it can show the severity of what really goes on in people’s minds. Doubles and Doppelgängers is a hard topic for people to understand in the real world maybe that’s why the genre makes great movies!
