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| "Shutter Island" movie poster. |
"Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) travel to a government-run mental institution for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, near Boston, when there is a report that one of the prisoners has gone missing. Daniels has his own reasons for wanting to get to the island and carries baggage of his own. He is still traumatized from what he saw when his army unit liberated one of the Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II and is still haunted by the more recent death in a fire of his wife. The head of the hospital, Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), treats him alright but others give the agents a less than warm reception. Daniels particularly wants to find out what is going on in one of the wards, reserved for the most serious offenders. As Daniels begins to peal away the layers of deceit, it becomes obvious that not all is as it seems." Written by garykmcd (Link below.)
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| Leonardo DiCaprio. |
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and directed by Martin Scorsese, I really enjoyed this movie. (Book review found here.) I thought it was very well-done. The script was great. Someone had already told me the ending so I knew what was coming and could see the various ways the scene would look to the detective and to someone who knew what was really going on.
The ending makes me wonder though. I'm trying not to give too much away, but it seems as if he did it on purpose and he walked away with the orderlies just fine. Like he knew what was coming and was welcoming it. I can understand why he would not to live with what he knew. I don't know if I could.
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| Ben Kingsley. |
I recommend this movie if you liked "The Machinist", "The Sixth Sense", or "Unbreakable".
I'm definitely gonna read the book now. I hope it's as good as the movie.
Script available here: http://screenplayexplorer.com/wp-content/scripts/Shutter_Island.pdf.
Script available here: http://screenplayexplorer.com/wp-content/scripts/Shutter_Island.pdf.
Favorite Lines:
[Daniels has asked the staff about Rachel's activities before her disappearance]
Teddy Daniels: Anything unusual occur?
Nurse Marino: Define 'unusual'.
Teddy Daniels: Excuse me?
Nurse Marino: This is a mental institution, Marshal. For the criminally insane. Usual isn't a big part of our day.
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| Leonardo DiCaprio. |
Dr. John Cawley: [examines Rachel's note] Ah, this is definitely Rachel's handwriting. I have no idea... what the "Law of Four" is, though.
Teddy Daniels: It's not a psychiatric term?
Dr. John Cawley: No, I'm afraid not.
Chuck Aule: [reads the note] "Who is 67?" Fucked if I know.
Dr. John Cawley: I have to say that's quite close to my clinical conclusion.
Warden: Did you enjoy God's latest gift?
Teddy Daniels: What?
Warden: God's gift. Your violence.
[Daniels looks at him blankly]
Warden: When I came downstairs in my home, and I saw that tree in my living room, it reached out for me... a divine hand. God loves violence.
Teddy Daniels: I... I hadn't noticed.
Warden: Sure you have. Why else would there be so much of it? It's in us. It's what we are. We wage war, we burn sacrifices, and pillage and plunder and tear at the flesh of our brothers. And why? Because God gave us violence to wage in his honor.
Teddy Daniels: I thought God gave us moral order.
Warden: There's no moral order as pure as this storm. There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?
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| An image from the film "Shutter Island". |
Warden: If I was to sink my teeth into your eye right now, would you be able to stop me before I blinded you?
Teddy Daniels: Give it a try.
Warden: That's the spirit.
Dr. John Cawley: Why are you all wet, baby?
Teddy Daniels: After she tried to kill herself the first time, Dolores told me she... she had an insect living inside her brain. She could feel it clicking across her skull, just... pulling the wires, just for fun. She told me that. She told me that but I didn't listen. I loved her so much.
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| "Shutter Island" book cover. |
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| "Shutter Island" book cover. |
Teddy Daniels: So, what's our next move?
Chuck Aule: You tell me.
Teddy Daniels: I gotta get off this rock, Chuck. Get back to the mainland. Whatever the hell's going on here, it's bad.
[pause]
Teddy Daniels: [sotto voce] Don't worry, partner, they're not gonna catch us.
Chuck Aule: That's right, we're too smart for 'em.
Teddy Daniels: Yeah, we are, aren't we?
[pause]
Teddy Daniels: You know, this place makes me wonder.
Chuck Aule: Yeah, what's that, boss?
Teddy Daniels: Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?
[gets up and walks off] Chuck Aule: Teddy?
