SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) Ending Explained + Analysis

This movie made me think whether I'm sane or not.

He did finally snap out of his made up world. But lied at the end because he didnt want to live with reality.

Imagine andrew's reaction when he finds out that he is 70% water.

After movie ended I questioned my existence.

And yet it still took Leo getting mauled by a bear to get his Oscar.

Andrew: I can’t stand the sight of water. Also Andrew: Lemme splash my face with some water right quick.

And leo only has one Oscar, that's the real hidden crime- no wonder he went crazy

I feel like Andrew clearly also had some favoritism towards his daughter

Chuck calls out to teddy at the end and he doesn’t respond to him. I took that as he knows he’s Andrew still and he’s accepting the lobotomy.

So I just watched this movie and this movie was a total twist . This movie is now one of my favorites and Leo should have won an Oscar for his performance .

Mad that when they were interrogating the staff, they all laughed when the guy said rachel hated the food, because she was a nurse and probably made that complaint to her friends, an inside joke they all laughed about. AND also when they were “searching” for rachel, none of the guards seemed interested or particularly worried, because they knew that it was all just roleplay. Absolutely amazing film. The doctor even stalled on letting him interview the staff because it would be troublesome to prep all of them for the roleplay. Details are crazy good

Andrew didn't kill his wife out of guilt and anger... The flashback clearly shows her asking him to "set her free" as she realizes what she has done for a brief instant. Andrew also confirms it when asked by the doctor why he killed is wife : "because she murdered our children and told me to let her go". I would argue that murdering Dolores is actually a proof of absolute sacrifice on Andrew's end, as he trully loves her but still accept to let her go to face the horror alone. This way, he frees her from the "insect in her brain, clicking accross her skull, pulling the wires just for fun". He only holds himself accountable for the murders of his children ("i killed them because i didn't get her help"), not her. I apologize if there are any mistakes in my comment, i'm a non-native english speaker.

“Mrs. Kearns writes "run" on the paper she slips to Teddy because she knows he has an opportunity to escape while they're doing the whole role play experiment. It's also why she sounds "coached" about what to tell Teddy - she has been. As for the conspiracy about why Mrs. Kearns' hand is empty when she goes to drink the water Chuck brings...she's crazy, let's not forget that. I doubt it was an error in editing. Shush lady 🤫 The creepy lady in the yard at the beginning of the film does the "shush" motion at Teddy because she knows him, knows that she's playing a game and has been instructed not to spoil it. She's a crazy lady enjoying a game, that's all. Pay attention to the staff interview scene. When Teddy and Chuck interview the nurses and orderlies it's easy to see just how ridiculous the staff finds the interview. One nurse says something about how 'far from normal' their jobs are - she's making an ironic joke because she's talking to a lunatic dressed as a cop. In that scene, the staff are also not too enthused about the role play, and Dr. Sheehan / Chuck pushes them to answer Teddy's questions. You'll see what I mean. When Teddy reveals to Dr. Naehring that he's figured out the patient 67 riddle during a staff meeting, Naehring says "What are they doing here?" He's genuinely annoyed that Dr. Cawley is letting Teddy/Andrew roam so freely. In Ward C Teddy is accosted by a loose prisoner and nearly strangles that prisoner to death. "Chuck" and a guard show up and drag the strangled man away. The guard tells Teddy that he can't come along to the infirmary, while mumbling about how much trouble he's going to be in - for letting a patient strangle another patient. Watch the guards throughout the film. They get extremely edgy whenever "Teddy" is around, and clutch their guns a little tighter. This is especially true at the beginning when "The Marshals" come to the island. It's because the guards know Teddy is a lunatic and they're not exactly thrilled about the role play experiment. It's also why they are less than enthused about looking for a Rachel Solando who doesn't exist down by the ocean rocks.”

This is such a brilliant movie, the whole time I watched it one thing kept going on in my mind: I need to watch more movies like this.

I still wanted teddy to escape from the island, even tho he didn’t exist....

I like the theory that fire represents his fantasy and water represents reality. During the movie Andrew was never scared of fire, he WELCOMED it. When he was in ward c he lit a match almost every 10 seconds it felt like; he blew up a car; and most notably when he got to the cave (soaking wet, mind you) he immediately lunged towards the fire and stayed no less than a foot away from it the entire time. This helps represent that he clings to his fantasy because he can't bare his reality

So this dude suffers from PTSD, psychosis, DID and multiple phobias at the same time... Jeez...

"Once you're declared insane, then anything you do is called part of that insanity. Reasonable protests are denial. Valid fears, paranoia." -Rachel Solando (cave). After watching this movie and the doctors declaring Teddy is Andrew and insane. Everyone (audience) instantly declares Teddy as insane and disregards him as a Marshal and everything he does or says even if they rewatch it. Mindfucked.

The part where Leo realizes his gun is fake made me bawl my eyes out. The despair and futility he must feel seeing this representation of his personhood, who he is and his absolution falling apart in his hands just crushes me.

Can't believe I just watched this movie for the first time yesterday. God darn wasn't expecting it to be that good I was expecting real horror but this was psychological horror. 10/10 did Leo or Mark get any nominations for this? I thought Ruffalo did really good in this and Leo was so emotional really good