Shutter Island (2010)

Gwang Lee's rating:   8.5 / 10.0


It is never a pleasure to be ended up in a mental hospital. Why? Because no one will pay attention to what you are saying. It doesn't matter who you really are, but it only matters what a doctor tell about who you are. Shutter Island lead us to the deep, dark side of the mental hospital, the Ashecliffe Hospital.


Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), a brilliant U.S. Marshals, travel to the Ashecliffe hospital to figure out the criminal who escaped from the hospital. As soon as he went inside of the hospital, Teddy senses uncomfortable feelings from the patients who look abnormal and desperate. He goes into the office to see Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Dr. Naehring (Max Von Sydow) to hear about the criminal and they visit places where Teddy would get some clues. Keep having an uncomfortable gut feeling, Teddy thinks Dr. Cawley and Dr. Naehring are trying to hide something from him about the criminal's escape. At the same time, he gets a three letters message from a patient during the interview: 'RUN'

One of the  patients at the Ashecliffe Hospital

Though he keeps thinking that he wouldn't be able to find the clues out for this case, he decides to stay in order to do his private investigation, finding a murderer who is a suspect murderer of Teddy's wife. However, as the days go, Teddy gets more headache, fainting, and nightmares; but he doesn't know what's going on and keep investigating. 

Teddy Daniels (left, Leonoardo DiCaprio) and Dr. Cawley (right, Ben Kingsley) arguing over the evidences

As his investigation seems to go father, he is more convinced that the two doctors are experimenting on the patients. Accidentally, Teddy meets the escaped criminal while finding his partner, then he realizes that he is exposed to the danger of being hospitalized without a consent. In order to find out the truth, Teddy decides to go to the lighthouse where the truth is or is meant to be. AND, the story starts heading to the climax.

The lighthouse where the truth is meant to be

Shutter Island will make you keep questioning the validation of the truth. Since the movie ends with open-ending, the answers are varied from person to person, it is certainly worth of watching movie and try to figure out who is right by comparing with other people's opinions.


If you've watched the movie "Inception," and you liked it, I strongly recommend you to watch this movie. This movie will make you think and it will challenge your sixth senses to figure out the answer.




Enjoy!