Shutter Island

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ohiotiger33's avatar

ohiotiger33

Senior Member

1,500 posts
Feb 20, 2010 10:08 AM
Great great movie. I agree, I sorta thought I had the ending guessed, but the way the story progressed, I even questioned my own guess at times. I really loved this movie. Reminded me of Lost in a way.
Feb 20, 2010 10:08am
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
Feb 20, 2010 10:12 AM
I thought it was pretty good, nothing spectacular. Predictable plot twist, very impressive camera work, and mediocre ending in my opinion.

It's debatable whether I got my $9 worth, which is now the barometer I use when judging a movie, whether it was worth the price of admission.

I would recommend it though, for what its worth.
Feb 20, 2010 10:12am
R

rydawg5

Senior Member

2,639 posts
Feb 20, 2010 10:58 AM
lhslep134 wrote: I thought it was pretty good, nothing spectacular. Predictable plot twist, very impressive camera work, and mediocre ending in my opinion.

It's debatable whether I got my $9 worth, which is now the barometer I use when judging a movie, whether it was worth the price of admission.

I would recommend it though, for what its worth.
I thought the ending was genius. I bet 80 percent of the people that watched in with me had a completely different idea of what the ending really was.

I loved explaining to my fiance what ACTUALLY happened instead of what she "saw" by casually watching.
Feb 20, 2010 10:58am
ohiotiger33's avatar

ohiotiger33

Senior Member

1,500 posts
Feb 20, 2010 11:04 AM
^^ I am with you rydawg. The fact that I had the idea of the ending guessed, but still got fooled is awesome. What was genius, was that the audience is put through exactly what Dicaprio's character is throughout the film. I just watched Vertigo (Hitchcock) the night before, and I think he would give a nod to this movie.


BTW I am usually very critical of movies (I liked about 1/3 of Avatar, for example; a chimp could have written that storyline and script, but the cinematography was amazing).
Feb 20, 2010 11:04am
C

cat_lover

Senior Member

2,388 posts
Feb 20, 2010 11:22 AM
Very good movie. Similar to the Hitchcock type physcological thrillers.
Feb 20, 2010 11:22am
W

wizecracker

Senior Member

139 posts
Feb 20, 2010 11:47 AM
Saw it last night. Good movie.
Feb 20, 2010 11:47am
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Feb 20, 2010 4:32 PM
Interesting movie. I had a feeling that it would play out the way it did. I thought it was good, but it seemed to drag a bit in places.
Feb 20, 2010 4:32pm
Apple's avatar

Apple

Prost!

2,620 posts
Feb 20, 2010 5:15 PM
I give it a half a thumbs-up... not a great movie, but decent. not sure why some are impressed with the cinematography, some scenes looked about as realistic as a 1940's movie or a SNL skit.
Feb 20, 2010 5:15pm
A

Angel

Senior Member

363 posts
Feb 20, 2010 5:23 PM
It did drag at times, but, did keep me interested. Not sure about the ending. Still wondering what really happened...
Feb 20, 2010 5:23pm
G

gusjohnson7

Junior Member

9 posts
Feb 21, 2010 12:50 AM
thought this was a pretty good movie.

haha, for those of you who thought the ending was "predictable" or "mediocre" i would love for you to explain it to me because i am pretty sure everyone i have asked cannot come to the same conclusion, which was the whole point of the book/movie.
Feb 21, 2010 12:50am
T

This_DJ_3

Senior Member

269 posts
Feb 21, 2010 1:03 AM
SPOILER ALERT!!!! STOP READING!!!

the last line "what's better, to live as a monster or die as a good man" completely threw me off and i'm not really sure what to think. Could it be as simple as him being a mental patient who keeps relapsing after breakthroughs? I'm trying to put something else together but am drawing a blank. What are some people's theories on this?
Feb 21, 2010 1:03am
2kool4skool's avatar

2kool4skool

Senior Member

1,804 posts
Feb 21, 2010 1:25 AM
I'm not trying to be a dick, but how could people not understand the ending? It's pretty much spelled out for you exactly what happens.

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

It's clear that
A.) He actually was/is crazy
B.) He recovers at the end, but decides to have the lobotomy and "die" rather than live with the knowledge he killed his wife and indirectly killed his children. Hence it's better to "die a good man" than "live as a monster."

There's simply no other conclusion you can reach. You think if he actually relapsed that he'd go willingly with the nurses as he does at the end, he was the most dangerous and violent person there? The entire last line is thrown in to make this very clear to the audience, hence Ruffalo's character saying "Teddy?"
Feb 21, 2010 1:25am
T

This_DJ_3

Senior Member

269 posts
Feb 21, 2010 1:38 AM
2kool4skool wrote: I'm not trying to be a dick, but how could people not understand the ending? It's pretty much spelled out for you exactly what happens.

SPOILER





It's clear that
A.) He actually was/is crazy
B.) He recovers at the end, but decides to have the lobotomy and "die" rather than live with the knowledge he killed his wife and indirectly killed his children. Hence it's better to "die a good man" than "live as a monster."

There's simply no other conclusion you can reach. You think if he actually relapsed that he'd go willingly with the nurses as he does at the end, he was the most dangerous and violent person there? The entire last line is thrown in to make this very clear to the audience, hence Ruffalo's character saying "Teddy?"
B) is exactly what i said to my Fiance i thought the ending signified as we walked out of the theater as this is the only way i could make sense of the last line. But all the talk had me thinking i'd missed some other possibility or maybe that i was looking too deep into it and maybe that it was just as simple as he relapsed and when he walked away with the nurses he thought he was still investigating this thing (and he had run of the facility for the previous 48 hours so that could be a reason he'd go willingly) and that he was to be swooped off after the cameras stop.

I guess like many have said it's kind of subjective but i had the same thought that he wanted to live neither as a dillusional patient or haunted by recovery, so he chose the lobotomy.
Feb 21, 2010 1:38am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Feb 21, 2010 2:01 AM
2kool4skool wrote: I'm not trying to be a dick, but how could people not understand the ending? It's pretty much spelled out for you exactly what happens.

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

It's clear that
A.) He actually was/is crazy
B.) He recovers at the end, but decides to have the lobotomy and "die" rather than live with the knowledge he killed his wife and indirectly killed his children. Hence it's better to "die a good man" than "live as a monster."

There's simply no other conclusion you can reach. You think if he actually relapsed that he'd go willingly with the nurses as he does at the end, he was the most dangerous and violent person there? The entire last line is thrown in to make this very clear to the audience, hence Ruffalo's character saying "Teddy?"
Agreed. I had to explain it to my wife and brother-in-law but I thought it was pretty obvious after his last line that he had accepted reality but didn't want to live with it.
Feb 21, 2010 2:01am
G

gusjohnson7

Junior Member

9 posts
Feb 21, 2010 2:45 AM
2kool, i agree with your take because it does make the most sense. But, the other argument about the ending isn't that crazy and i don't think its that hard to have another opinion or be confused about the ending

personally after reading about the book and now seeing this movie i think that both are supposed to be left for open interpretation.
Feb 21, 2010 2:45am
Red_Skin_Pride's avatar

Red_Skin_Pride

Senior Member

1,226 posts
Feb 21, 2010 2:57 AM
gusjohnson7,

I salute your screen name.
Feb 21, 2010 2:57am
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Feb 21, 2010 10:09 AM
2kool4skool wrote: I'm not trying to be a dick, but how could people not understand the ending? It's pretty much spelled out for you exactly what happens.

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

It's clear that
A.) He actually was/is crazy
B.) He recovers at the end, but decides to have the lobotomy and "die" rather than live with the knowledge he killed his wife and indirectly killed his children. Hence it's better to "die a good man" than "live as a monster."

There's simply no other conclusion you can reach. You think if he actually relapsed that he'd go willingly with the nurses as he does at the end, he was the most dangerous and violent person there? The entire last line is thrown in to make this very clear to the audience, hence Ruffalo's character saying "Teddy?"
I completely agree with this. I thought the ending was a nice twist, but not subjective at all.
Feb 21, 2010 10:09am
GOONx19's avatar

GOONx19

An exceptional poster.

7,147 posts
Feb 21, 2010 10:36 AM
SPOILER

I didn't think it was too hard to figure out either. Great movie. The only question I left with was whether he had a lobotomy at the end or was simply killed. I thought the lobotomies were a part of his hallucinations earlier in the movie... Did they actually perform them?
Feb 21, 2010 10:36am
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Feb 21, 2010 10:49 AM
GOONx19 wrote: SPOILER

I didn't think it was too hard to figure out either. Great movie. The only question I left with was whether he had a lobotomy at the end or was simply killed. I thought the lobotomies were a part of his hallucinations earlier in the movie... Did they actually perform them?
SPOILER

I think it was the lobotomy. The doctor told him directly that they would be forced to do that if there wasn't a quick fix...in the litehouse scene.
Feb 21, 2010 10:49am
R

rydawg5

Senior Member

2,639 posts
Feb 21, 2010 11:12 AM
wes_mantooth wrote:
GOONx19 wrote: SPOILER

I didn't think it was too hard to figure out either. Great movie. The only question I left with was whether he had a lobotomy at the end or was simply killed. I thought the lobotomies were a part of his hallucinations earlier in the movie... Did they actually perform them?
SPOILER

I think it was the lobotomy. The doctor told him directly that they would be forced to do that if there wasn't a quick fix...in the litehouse scene.
Actual Spoiler --

No one is disputing the obvious observations you are pointing out.

The real spoiler is this ...

He was pretending to relapse at the end because he did not want to live with knowing what happened to his kids/wife.

He knew full well what would happen if he pretended to be a US Marshall again, so he did. He wanted the lobotomy after thinking about it, so he decided to make them believe he was crazy again.
Feb 21, 2010 11:12am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Feb 21, 2010 11:14 AM
rydawg5 wrote: The real spoiler is this ...

He was pretending to relapse at the end because he did not want to live with knowing what happened to his kids/wife.

He knew full well what would happen if he pretended to be a US Marshall again, so he did. He wanted the lobotomy after thinking about it, so he decided to make them believe he was crazy again.
This has already been covered.
Feb 21, 2010 11:14am
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Feb 21, 2010 11:14 AM
^^right.

I think the whole thing is pretty obvious if you are paying attention to the movie. I don't think it is some kind of "open ended" ending that could be subjective in any way.
Feb 21, 2010 11:14am
R

rydawg5

Senior Member

2,639 posts
Feb 21, 2010 11:35 AM
wes_mantooth wrote: ^^right.

I think the whole thing is pretty obvious if you are paying attention to the movie. I don't think it is some kind of "open ended" ending that could be subjective in any way.
So the verdict would be.. The way I read your posts (and others) about the spoilers is how MOST people watch the movie :)

Another thing that damages the movie are the previews.

If would have been marketed as a "Suspenseful/Thriller" people would have walked in thinking "Hmm this is going to be a real movie with a real plot line"

I think most people walked in thinking "Okay.. scare the hell out of me!"

Two very different types of movie watching/attentive listening happens between these two types of movies.

So those who thought it "dragged" probably expected "Drag me to hell" instead of darker "A beautiful mind" type of movie.
Feb 21, 2010 11:35am
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Feb 21, 2010 3:56 PM
^^^I agree with that. I was expecting a horror type movie, but after seeing many months of previews, I figured it would be a suspense movie. Actually, it is more of a psychological suspense movie I guess.
Feb 21, 2010 3:56pm
hangonsloopy's avatar

hangonsloopy

Senior Member

1,291 posts
Feb 21, 2010 4:46 PM
Saw it last night. I agree with most. It was good, but not great. I had the right idea when I went into it of how it would play out, but I still was second guessing myself towards the end. I agree with what's been said about the ending also. Pretty clear cut to me. I'd give it a solid B.
Feb 21, 2010 4:46pm