Did You Know?
In Shutter Island (2010) a woman being interviewed is give a glass of water, when she goes to drink out of it the glass disappears, then reappears when it is empty. “Teddy” is afraid of water after the incident with his wife and is reality is skewed because of it.
I remember seeing this in the theater and first thinking it was a mistake. I never even considered the “water” aspect of it. I just figured it was Scorsese f—ing with the audience. Showing just how unhinged Teddy was becoming.
This character has some great background lines through most of the film. They would mostly go unnoticed during the first watch through.
“I don’t remember what I’m supposed to remember” sounds like rambling but she actually doesn’t remember her “lines” for when she’s talking to Teddy.
Of course he’s scared of water, that man died in the North Atlantic Ocean after the Titanic hit an iceberg. AND he was shot and left for dead in his swimming pool at Gatsby Mansion. AND for ‘years’ was washed up on a beach in limbo.
This is an awesome detail. His wife drowned their child, so this makes sense. I really doubt they would ask an actress to drink out of an invisible glass in a movie so detail-oriented and mind-fucky unless there was a reason.
To add on to this, water represents reality in the film. everytime something actually happens, the scene is usually drowned in water (with fire having the opposite effect). so by “deleting” the glass of water, teddy’s mind is actively trying to avoid reality and stay in his delusion.
This is evidenced in other parts of the film as well. like in the beginning when he’s arriving on the boat, he becomes very ill and says “i can’t stomach the water”. or how he’s in a constant battle with water (ex: fighting the storm to traverse or being woken up by the leaky roof).
Gaslighting 😉
Shutter Island (2010)
R | 2h 18min | Mystery, Thriller | 19 February 2010 (USA)
In 1954, a U.S. Marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderer, who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay), Dennis Lehane (novel)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo
