Shutter Island: The Big Twist Ending

Most reviews for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island were not overly positive. In fact, rumor has it that the release date was pushed back because the studio did not want the film coming out during Oscar season because they felt it was not worthy of the Academy Award and wanted to spare the great director the embarrassment of being neglected come awards night. So, what was it that made this film below standard for Scorsese? Was it the subject matter? The execution of the film? Maybe the manipulative twist ending?

Personally, I rather like twist endings. I have always been a fan of The Twilight Zone series and loved the goosebumps that unexpected story twists create. My love of twist endings lead me to a period in my college writing career where I was constantly producing "tricky" little short stories. One of my creative writing professors, a visiting professor and acclaimed writer, cautioned me about these stories, which were clearly not her cup of tea. She told me that people don't like feeling used like that. To me, all movies manipulate the audience, even at the most basic level --that's not really snow, that wasn't the actor jumping from that 60-foot building, etc. Movies operate on the suspension of disbelief. We are being fooled at every moment of the journey and we are supposed to sit back and enjoy the ride. It is a magic show meant to delight and playfully deceive. I remember in an interview one time Jamie Lee Curtis, while plugging Christmas with the Kranks, actually got angry when she was asked about specific scenes and how they were pulled off behind the camera. She wanted it all to remain a mystery to audiences. While I have to admit, I really enjoy extras and behind-the-scenes footage found on most DVDs today, I can understand her point. Are we taking the fun out of movies? Have we gotten too clever for our own good?

With all this said, however, I have to admit the twist in Shutter Island was not overly unpredicatible. I had it figured out less than half way through the film and I'm sure other people did as well. I don't know if this is because in all the coming attractions and hype surrounding the film the phrase "twist ending" was included and I was very actively looking for clues and making predictions. Or, perhaps, being a savy movie watcher who lived through the whole Sixth Sense phenomenon, I have learned to see these things coming and refuse to be manipulated.

The Big Premier / Up in The Air

Hello and welcome to my blog! Being a big film buff, I have been interested in starting a movie-related blog for some time but was hesitant since there are so many great blogs and websites already out there devoted to this subject matter. I didn’t want to just critique current films or provide plot summaries. So what could be the focus?

I got the idea for this blog about a month ago. I was sitting with two friends in a café in SoHo. We all took the same intensive filmmaking class together last summer, so of course when we get together we inevitably discuss films –making and seeing them. We got to talking about some of the latest films playing in theatres that had some Oscar buzz. One movie we mentioned was Up in the Air, starring George Clooney (now available on DVD). We ended up specifically discussing the ending of the film –not just what happened, but the tone of it and how it made us feel. My friends seemed to think it was quite depressing and rather pessimistic. I strongly felt there was hope, and not just a glimmer, but real, tangible hope. We all argued our sides but the friendly debate ended with one of my friends saying, “Oh, let’s just stop! Jennifer is just too optimistic!”

I then started to realize that the ending of movies are more than just the period at the end of a sentence. My college screenwriting professor used to tell us, “If you are having trouble writing the third act, you have an inherent problem in Act I.” This shows just how important the ending of a film truly is. The ending can embody the themes of the film, the message, and often form our lasting impression of the entire film –be it disappointment, surprise, happiness, or despair. Sometimes we leave the theatre thinking we are the characters in the film –strong, smart, sexy heroes and heroines. My dad once told me how when he was a young boy his father took him to an intense action film. After the movie ended, the people all got in their cars and spend out of the parking lot, more quickly and aggressively than normal, acting like they were in a Hollywood high-speed chase. Movies also can provide us with closure or leave us hanging, even confused (and I actually tend to like the films that are not neatly tied-up). Endings can be very thought-provoking, even when they don’t appear to be on the surface, like Up in the Air.

Therefore, I would like to use this blog to discuss different movie endings –our opinions on them (i.e. are they successful or do they fail) and how they relate to the story as a whole. It goes without saying that every entry will come with a SPOLIER ALERT! I hope this will not deter people from participating, but please resist conjecture if you have not actually seen the film at hand. Although we will concentrate on current films, we will certainly discuss some older films as well. I welcome comments and questions and hope all of you movie fans out there in cyberspace will join this community! As this blog grows and evolves, I will certainly include links to other blogs and sites.

For now, we can start where my conversation with my friends left off: Is the ending of Up in the Air optimistic or pessimistic about life and love? What do you think?