'Shutter Island' Analysis: Opening 2 Minutes and Trailer

In the opening of the film, we can hear music motifs of classic horror films, such as a high pitched note and drums or crashes. This is effective as it sets the mood for the film and shows the audience what genre it will be. 

We see an establishing shot of the boat coming through the clouds, which cuts to a panning up shot towards the character. This makes him seem like the main character as it is heavily focused on him, making the audience focus on him throughout the opening. The outfits and accents the two men use show the decade in which it is set, and helps the audience to relate to them. 

This cuts to point-of-view shots of the ocean and of himself in the mirror. This creates a sense of atmosphere for the audience as it helps them to step into his shoes. The close-up as he is talking about his past life, cuts to a view of his past life, helping the audience to imagine what he has gone through. This shot in his past-life is a lot brighter in colour than the real-time shot. This shows the contrast in emotion that has been caused by the loss of his love. This makes the audience feel sympathy towards the man. 

In the trailer for the film, the music of horror motifs creates tension and entices the audience to see what will happen. There is an establishing shot of the island, helping to set the scene for the audience. It looks quite peaceful, which contrasts the horror sound motifs. The trailer primarily focuses on DiCaprio's character, particularly with close-ups to show his emotion change throughout, making the audience feel as if he is the person they are supposed to trust and warm to. Their costumes change halfway through into the white outfits that the patients wear to the island. This confuses the audience and makes them want to find out why they have changed and what happened for them to get into that position. This encourages them to watch the whole film. It cuts to and from lots of different parts of the film, making the trailer fast paced, adding to the tension that the music is creating. The screaming in it also adds to this tension. There are fast-paced horror-style cuts also creating the illusion of fear and tension throughout.