| rdfs:comment | - In 1954, two U.S. marshals investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane on an island in Massachusetts. They run into trouble when they are deceived by the hospital's chief administrator, a hurricane hits and an inmate riot traps them on the island.
- Shutter Island is a 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and The Given Day and a writer on The Wire. In 1954, US Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule are assigned to investigate the disappearance of multiple murderess Rachel Solando, who is a patient at Shutter Island's Ashecliffe Hospital, a mental hospital for the most violent of the criminally insane. It is revealed that Andrew Laeddis, the man responsible for Daniels' wife's death, is incarcerated there as well. But of course, all is not as it seems...
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| abstract | - Shutter Island is a 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and The Given Day and a writer on The Wire. In 1954, US Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule are assigned to investigate the disappearance of multiple murderess Rachel Solando, who is a patient at Shutter Island's Ashecliffe Hospital, a mental hospital for the most violent of the criminally insane. It is revealed that Andrew Laeddis, the man responsible for Daniels' wife's death, is incarcerated there as well. As the marshals investigate further, they begin to uncover hints that Ashecliffe Hospital may be home to a living nightmare of Nazi-esque experimentation on unwilling patients. But of course, all is not as it seems... The novel was adapted into a movie by Martin Scorsese in 2010, with Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels and Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule. Perhaps one of the most heavily symbolic novels/films in years, to the extent that it will screw with your mind HARD.
* Arc Words: "Why you all wet, Baby?"
* All Germans Are Nazis: Teddy automatically assumes that the German doctor working in the asylum is some kind of Josef Mengele, continuing his experiments on American soil.
* A Storm Is Coming: Said by the captain of the boat at the beginning of the film.
* Bedlam House: A very good example of a subversion, as the horrific experiments are all part of the protagonist's delusions. The story plays with the audience, as it is because of familiarity with the trope that one so readily accepts Daniels' version of reality as truth.
* Crusading Widower
* The Fifties: A very grim portrayal of the time period, bordering on Crapsack World. Cold War, McCarthyism, fresh memories of Nazi atrocities, rampant crime and general paranoia form the zeitgeist.
* Framing Device: The novel is presented as Dr. Sheehan's desire to set the record straight at last.
* Go Among Mad People
* It's Personal: Teddy takes on the case specifically because of its link to his wife.
* Lighthouse Point: The lighthouse at the end of the island, that the staff says contains the septic system, but others say contains a lobotomy lab. It's actually an office.
* Locked Room Mystery: How did Rachel Solando escape? "It's as if she evaporated straight through the walls."
* Meaningful Name: Toward the end of the book, Dr. Cawley remarks on the irony of how Teddy even in his intent to hide the truth from himself, gave his partner primary psychiatrist the name "Chuck Aule". Say it five times fast.
* Only Sane Man: Cruelly subverted. Teddy believes he is one. He is wrong.
* The Precious Precious Car: Teddy blows up Dr. Crawley's beloved car in order to create a diversion.
* Room 101: Teddy assumes the lighthouse is one.
* Shell-Shocked Veteran: Teddy's got nightmares and perhaps a drinking problem because of his WWII experience.
* The Shrink: In Teddy's eyes, the psychiatrists are the evil version of this trope. In reality, they are only trying to help him overcome his madness.
* Through the Eyes of Madness: Teddy Daniels.
* Tomato in the Mirror: Teddy Daniels is Andrew Laeddis.
* Tomato Surprise: The missing Dr. Sheehan turns out to be Teddy's new partner, Chuck Aule.
* Twist Ending: One that would make M. Night Shyamalan proud.
* Unreliable Narrator: Teddy Daniels.
* US Marshal
* Was It All a Lie?: And a decidedly cruel, sad version of it, because for once "The Mole" was actually doing it for the protagonist's own good.
- In 1954, two U.S. marshals investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane on an island in Massachusetts. They run into trouble when they are deceived by the hospital's chief administrator, a hurricane hits and an inmate riot traps them on the island.
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