9 Frame Analysis on Shutter Island

The opening titles of Shutter island begin with very tense screaching music to put you on the edge of your seat. The first shot shows a boat slowly becoming visable through the mist, then it quickly cuts to leonardo being sick in the boat toilets telling us that he isnt used to the sea life and is more compfortable on land. He then walks onto the deck and meets his new police detective partner, they both introduce themselvs and give some personal details such as name and where they are from letting us get to know the characters a but more. They then go on to speak about where the boat is going, they say its going to a mental asylum for the criminally insane which gives the audience the feeling that this place will not be a bright coloured happy place it will be a bin full of all the criminally insane scum from around the world. the captain of the boat comes over and says he would appreciate it if they will get off the boat quickly so they can leave, leonardo reacts "whys that captain" and the captain says "there is a storm coming and once your on that island there aint no getting off it till the storm calms down" letting the audience know that once they get on the island they are stuck there. Once they are on the island all of the gaurds seem to be on edge, gripping there guns tightly almost as if leonardo is to be feared, but obviously if you watch the film to the end you realise they fear him as he is an inmate having a test to see if they can turn him sane. The opening 5 minutes introduces the key thriller characters to be very professional in what they do also they dont like authority over them as shown when the gaurds of the asylum tell them what to do, they protest they have more power. The opening of the film relates to the end of the film by the sea being the only way on or off the island, and also lots of small things happen like on the boat he loses his cigarettes and maybe he never had any, and his police partner finds it really hard to get his gun off his trousers waistline showing he hasnt much experience in it, and if you have seen the film to the end you know he is an actor

In this still it shows leonardo meeting his new police partner that he is going to be working with throughout the film to solve the case in hand, this is a very important still as the audience get introduced to the main thriller characters and also get filled in on the story background of shutter island.

In this still it shows leonardo and his partner meeting the main therapist of the island and this is a very important still as it shows the officors making a friendship bond with the main therapist who is a main character due to it being a mental asylum.

This is another very important still as it is when they meet one of the main doctors of the island and he does a synopsis on what kind of man leonardo is and the violent man he describes sounds nothing like the character we have seen of so far which causes tension making you wonder about his past and future.

In this still they interview some of the patients to find out some information on there case and one of the patients that they interview hand over a note telling them to "RUN" giving the audience the feeling that shutter island isnt the place that it seems to be.

In this still both of the officors get stuck in a abandoned cemetery together whilst the storm is going on outside and they start talking about there back stories and you learn more about the characters then you thought were to them. Leonardos Partner also starts thinking up ideas that the government have them trapped on the island but as a professional he brushes them thoughts aside. this makes all different thoughts go through the audiences minds to almost confuse them and so they dont know who to beleive

In this still Leonardo finds a cave and inside is a women claiming to be on the run from all of the gaurds from shutter island as they are going to cut her skull open and make her into a vegetable. She also hints to him that his partner isnt actually his partner he is working for the asylum as a spy. this makes the audience feel on edge anymore scenes that his partner is in shot.

In this still Leonardo confronts the main therapist and he finds out that everything he has been doing has been roleplay to see if they let him live out his fantasy of him being a police officer will it bring him back to sanity. by doing this they bring him back to sanity and the effects seem to be very posetive.

The effects of the treatment dont seem to last long as in the next still he is talking about a plot to escape the island, but he then says "is it better to be a monster alive or a hero dead?",  this shows that he has acknowledged the bad things he has done in the past and leave the audience on a cliffhanger wondering if he is insane or sane and would rather die than live with what he has done.