Why I did not like Shutter Island

28th march, 2011 9:16 pm

p.s-

The views expressed are not entirely mine. I have just edited some viewer's comments on the movie. Nontheless, i totally and completely agree with the views expressed here.

1. I hate to say this as much anyone else but for me this film had a horribly disappoint ending. First before I delve into that I'd like to say that the acting, the writing, the shooting, the film in general as far as quality goes was very good. But the ending was very disappointing. And no I am no idiot or newbie when it comes to film. But I thought the was very much a cop out. Now granted I know this is based off of a novel, hence there are certain restraints to adhering to this novel somewhat. That being said I found the idea of the medical experimentation, mental hospital, nazi experiments, and astray patients much more tantalizing, realistic, and more full of potential. The trick ending where its all in someone's head is done far too often sadly. I was hoping that while it dragged one there at the end it would ultimately reveal he was playing them or that he would stay true and not give in. But that didn't happen. I guess for me I was just expecting something not so cliché for an ending from the likes of Scorsese's genius mind. But all things said and done I definitely can't give this movie all negative remarks, wonderfully acted and scripted. Great atmosphere, shooting, photography, etc. But I feel the ending should have been less cliché.

2. The film makes no damned sense, unless the point of the film is supposed to be that the people running the insane asylum are more insane than the inmates.

For this film to make any sense, you have to accept the premise that psychiatrists who actually care about a mentally ill patient would try to cure such patient by doing things that would drive a sane person crazy; that they would play cruel head games that encourage delusional beliefs. How can any sane person believe that giving Teddy/Andrew evidence to support his delusions is going to cure him of delusions? In fact, as the film progresses, we see Teddy/Andrew getting more deluded, more paranoid, more violent. The role-playing is clearly counter-productive.


And for this film to make any sense, you also have to believe that these same doctors would give a startling degree of freedom to one of the asylum's most violent killers. Andrew/Teddy attacks a patient and knocks out a guard. He blows up a car, for goodness sake! That alone should prove it was insane to give him any freedom to wander alone, even for a short time.

The movie was set up as a mystery - what is the secret of Shutter Island? But the resolution (that Teddy/Andrew was insane all along, and the doctors were pretending to be evil because they thought that would cure him of his delusions) makes no sense. There is nothing worse than a mystery where the solution bends all rules of logic. It reminds me of the following joke:

Dennis Lehane: What is furry, has four legs, purrs, and reads the newspaper every day? Richard Nathan: I don't know. Dennis Lehane: A cat. I lied about the newspaper.

I thought that joke was annoying the first time I heard it, and it's annoying as the basis of the mystery in "Shutter Island."

Furthermore, the resolution is not the result of any actions taken by the protagonist. The role-playing game doesn't lead Teddy/Andrew to discover the truth himself. He is merely a passive listener as the solution is explained to him. The breaks several major rules of screen writing.

And what about the very end? Most people interpret Teddy/Andrew's last line as meaning Andrew is only faking his regression, so that he can get a lobotomy and avoid facing the truth. But if he were faking it, why would he give this away to the doctor playing Chuck? And why are so many people moved by this act of cowardice? Can there be anything more cowardly than someone choosing to get a lobotomy to avoid facing the truth about himself? Are we supposed to empathize with someone who chooses to destroy his own intellect?

I cannot understand how anyone can think this is an intelligent screenplay.


3. Let's break it down simply. The whole movie is a two hour long, twilight zone style "and then he woke up." Everything you watch, all of the characters, all of the story, mean nothing. They are erased at the ending when the protagonist "comes to" and realizes that he's just a murderer. But keep in mind, this isn't any normal crime. It is at once as cliché and as over the top as possible.

There was one fascinating mystery that I hoped would be explained but wasn't. Teddy makes his way to a lighthouse and runs up the stairs to find one of the doctors from the mental hospital in a office.

OK. It's a lighthouse. There's a spiral staircase running through the middle of it. How in the world did the doctor manage to get a desk, chairs, file cabinet, lamps, etc., three stories up a spiral staircase? And why? I'd ask the same question of Scorsese. You and some brilliant actors made this turd.

Why?

4. I just kept thinking that this couldn't have been one of those "it was all a dream" clichés, but sadly it was. The entire film was so redundant that all I could say at the end of the film was: "seriously?" Do NOT waste your money… it will leave you angry and frustrated.

5. I've never been too fond of twist endings, but I felt the twist in this film really made the film entirely pointless.

We spend most of the movie engrossed in a detective story with a few flashback puzzle pieces and are left to wonder how those fit into the twist we all know is coming. The fact we all the twist from the trailer means its basically only a matter of time.

I left feeling hollow and annoyed. What is the point of all this? What are they trying to say about crazy people? In the end Andrew (Teddy for most of the movie) is to be lobotomized, so the message is about how sometimes drugs and respecting patients doesn't work so let's carve them open? Rather than creating an expertly crafted detective story we instead get an obvious twist (even to those who turned the channel every time the trailer was on) that halts the story. I cared about Teddy's demons, wanted him to get off the island but you can't yank the character around into someone else and expect me to still care about him when everything he's been characterized as and experienced has been one big delusion.

It was still an okay film... just apparently not my style of film.

A phenomenon, a revelation, a lifestyle, the eighth wonder of the world… I can just go on and on and might probably even run out of synonyms that will do justice to this 21st Century marvel. It’s facebook I’m talking about. There are very few websites or companies that can boast the success Facebook enjoys. It has almost become a religion now (& I’m a follower I confess). In the 5 years of Facebook it has changed the way people live.

Facebook calculates that around the world, there are more than 800 million users online who spend more than 3 billion minutes on Facebook every day.

It’s more like a virtual meeting place where people can hang out with friends. They can discuss on different topics, share information, and exchange files and pictures. people use these sites as a platform to meet long lost friend and batch mates, whereas there are others for whom it becomes a bridge to meet their future love. Some people also use these websites to promote their blogs and services. It has made world a small place and everyone can stay connected.

But I’s not all sunshine and roses. There are some drawbacks too.

Perhaps the biggest online social networking drawback is that it makes identity theft easier. It is easy to mask real self behind a fake profile.
Cyber criminals analyse social networking profiles for information that can help them to steal your identity.
While you need to add some personally identifiable information for people to discover you online, it is advisable that you don't go overboard to post every little personal detail about you. Privacy settings can be changed to "friends only," so that only those with your approval are allowed to view your profile. . Avoid posting personal information that is not necessary. While you may add your birth day and month (else your friends will forget to wish you on your birthday), you can avoid adding the year of birth.


Don't befriend unknown people: If you don't know them, it might not be worth the while to be friends with them. People think it’s a matter of pride if they have 400-500 friends. Better have just 100 friends whm you can trust.

If you are angry over something, the online world is not always the best place to vent it out. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, count up to 10 and then log out. Even in the offline world people don't like abusive people. Abusing and trolling lowers your online credibility, make you lose friends and also can get you blocked. It is social networking and not unsocial networking, a bit of civility is expected
Before posting a message on your profile or sending it someone check it twice. You don't want to send a soft message to the wrong person or you may even consider rephrasing a sentence that can have a double meaning.

In a craze to be noticed people put their good, bad and ugly selves out there for all to see. Until a while ago, we fought and made up with friends in private. But the latest wave of voyeurism encourages you to go public with your spats, however close the relationship is.


Friends may tag you in pictures or videos that you'd rather not have others see. If photos are posted up and you are tagged in them, chances are a professor, employer or one of your parents will see these and not be very y happy about it. There are many people who have not been hired because the employer did not like what they saw on the applicant's Facebook profile. So it's important to monitor your Facebook pictures and un-tag any that look like they could cause problems.

Facebook wastes a ton of time. It can be pretty addicting, like any website, so make sure you set a time-limit for how long you can spend on the websiteRemember that Facebook won’t shut down your account if you don't come up with something new every half-an-hour.Facebook is good for staying in contact with friends, but you need to understand that these sites can be used to some extent, but not over the limit.


The good news is that the pros for social networking outweigh the cons. And with a few healthy habits, you can avoid or minimize the drawbacks. Just remember to be careful and responsible .As with everything, use your common sense.

WHAT 9 MONTHS OF COLLEGE HAS TAUGHT ME


23RD MARCH 2011, 7:25 PM

Goa chalte hai weekend par, class ke baad pool khelne chale…food court mein kya hoga…teacher kitna paka raha hai…aaj raat man-u ka match hai….raat ka kya plans hai…koi assignment to nahi dena hai…saamne wali ladki kitni hot hai. These are the popular chatting topics while the lectures are on. And when topics seem scarce there is always sleep, so sweet in the lectures. You stayed awake last night till 4 watching a movie. You had fought with your conscience long before you convinced it sleep can be done in the class. Movie is really important. So you had a hearty sleep for full one hour of the lecture where the foolish lecturer kept on blabbering thinking there is someone in the class who want to listen to him. And then you wake up just to realize that your attendance has gone past. What I have never really understood is how after the lecture ends your sleep vanishes. It’s almost magic.

Often we text that “Busy, In class”. So ironical, because all we do in class is to sleep and have fun fighting, playing and cracking jokes on the teacher. Semesters come and go and we promise every time “next semester mein to dikha doonga’’. Sad that the ‘next semester’ never comes. Mom asks ‘padhai kaisa chal rha?’ We reply haan padh hi rha tha, while you may be playing ‘counter strike’. People think you’re not cool until you have a girlfriend/boyfriend in college. You’re supposed to be a loser without them. There are boys who are happy with ‘bird watching’ while there are others who might actually take the step which is supposed to make them COOL. Girls eye boys, dressing in strangest possible ways and boys try to show off in front of girls. The hottest gal in college becomes a debatable topic. ‘Woh mere ko dekh rahi hai/raha hai’ is supposed to be a fashion statement.

When I was in school, especially 11th -12th standard, college life attracted me. I wanted to end my schooling as soon as possible. I was sick of the blue dress we wore to school every single day, standing in the hot sun for prayers in morning assembly, Getting punished if you have not worn your tie (which we often didn’t). I so wanted to grow up. Today I may have ended my school life, and may have grown up. But this has added a sense of responsibility. Pokemon, Aladdin and Son pari seem so kiddish today. Stone paper scissors seem a distant past. Now ego has crept in, relationships are more complicated, friendship is not so innocent. Slangs were considered bad when we were small, but now F-word is part and parcel of everyone’s vocab (though I am still holding on)...I often wonder how my friends change their vocabulary when they go back to their homes. An India defeat or Ronaldo’s goal miss...people have so different reactions when they are in the hostels and at home...
Drinking, smoking is a parameter of one’s coolness. Getting hangovers and moreover pretending to have is something what a college goer take pride in.People love showing off that they don’t study as they don’t want to be tagged as a ‘padhaku’ or a ‘nerd’. And still the same people top the exams. Kind of weird. Relationship status changes faster than your clothes, your words don’t reflect your feelings and lies are part and parcel of life.

Your friends become your family and never realize we’re closer to them than to our family. We listen to great songs everyday and each one becomes memorable and reminds us of a certain event... Becoming nocturnal is a part of your day. Sleeping the day out to utilize the night is one of the most valuable things college life has taught us. Skipping breakfast every morning just to be in time for the lecture has a uniqueness of its own. Having some snacks with friends at the canteen after having toiled for hours in the Workshop is worth every bite. Doing assignments on the last night has a feel of its own. We learn how to deal with pressure and still manage to come out with flying colours. Making fun of that one guy in your class whom everyone seems to make fun is ecstatic.

Keep taking photos; they will be memories after your college life. Because however much we may complain about lecture hours crawling their time, how days will turn into 4 years, we may never realize.Guess it’s what college is all about. What matters is to Study hard and Play harder. Enjoy to your fullest, as these days won’t last forever…