I recently posted my entire final paper for my film theory class, spurred by rewatching Shutter Island. I enjoy the movie overall, but I just feel like there’s still more I want to write about it. Every time I try and watch it, I get stuck watching one scene on repeat. Apparently I’m not the only one who’s captivated by it; there are two videos on youtube of it labeled “Shutter Island best scene.” It’s only the fourth or so scene in the film, where Teddy and Chuck are invited to Dr. Crawley’s mansion. It’s a beautiful scene on its own; the music and imagery come together amazingly, but it’s the acting that ties everything together, particularly on repeat viewings. The scene can be viewed here; it’s early enough that it’s not a spoiler, though I will be spoiling the film when I talk about it. This post also has no proper ending because I do what I want.
I will also note that I switch between Teddy and Andrew for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character; I use ‘Teddy’ when talking solely about what is happening in the current scene, and ‘Andrew’ when referring to him from others’ point of view or discussing his delusions.
The scene begins with a sound bridge to the establishing shot of the outside of the mansion. The next establishing shot of the interior appears to be Teddy’s POV, but it turns out to be a high angle shot as the characters walk into frame .
Dr. Naehring is now introduced by a tracking shot curving around his chair as the music swells. From then on there are three main shots separating the characters; Teddy and Chuck standing in the center of the room, Dr. Crawley on the right, and Dr. Naehring in his chair on the left.
He seems to ignore Chuck in favor of prodding Teddy; even when Chuck steps in to reject Naehring’s label of “men of violence”, Naehring is completely focused on Teddy. Chuck gets shiftier as the verbal sparring continues, eventually commenting that both he and Teddy “could have been paper pushers over there.”
Naehring’s denial sends Teddy into establishing shots of a full flashback. This is closer to a dream or memory than an actual portrayal of the scene; the imagery of the paper and the blood and the dying officer is striking yet unrealistic. Obviously this is Teddy’s reality, which isn’t necessarily ours. Unlike when we entered the mansion, none of the shots are from Teddy’s POV or anything even close to it.
Back in the present, the tension is even thicker than ever; Chuck is still shifty even as he defends both of them, and even Crawley is dead serious.
Teddy cracks a joke, and Crawley laughs in the ‘oh isn’t this just jovial’ manner, and it almost works until Naehring again mentions “defense mechanisms”, looking at Crawley as if to make a point.
We return to the past, where Teddy, locking eyes with the officer, slowly and deliberately pushes his gun out of reach, forcing the man to die slowly of blood loss. As he looks back, Naehring continues to prod, and Teddy begins to openly accuse him of being a former Nazi, and Crawley is stonefaced as they confront each other.
The tension comes to a head as Teddy gets back to the point of the investigation, the angle and framing of the shots of Crawley and Naehring change as he finally becomes fed up with both of them.
The music now begins to fade out as the tension finally turns to outright conflict; the scene ends soon after (and to be honest, I always consider the dramatic end to the scene here).
The scene’s purpose is to establish four main ideas:
1. Dr. Crawley is attempting to lull Teddy and Chuck into a false sense of security. He invites them into his house, takes them to his lavish study, and offers them drinks and cigars, yet is still resistant to talking about helping with the investigation.
2. Dr. Naehring is a threat. He is given a dramatic reveal and immediately goes on the attack against Teddy. More importantly, he subconsciously reminds Teddy of the Nazis running concentration camps. Though Crawley is certainly vague in his intentions, Naehring is the true obstacle to the investigation.
3. Chuck is willing to stick by Teddy, although he might not entirely be on his side. Notice that while Teddy is still suspicious of the situation, Chuck is still awed by the décor and easily accepts a drink from Crawley. He defends Teddy against Naehring’s barbs, but he seems uncomfortable doing so; his eyes dart between Teddy and Crawley as he speaks.
4. Teddy is still haunted by his actions in WWII. Although the music reminds him of the prisoners at Dachau, he doesn’t experience a full blown flashback until Naehring prods him about violence. The prisoners certainly had an effect on him, but he is haunted by what he was complicit in.
The combination of the music, cinematography, art direction, and acting make this into a great scene, but repeat viewings, where the duality of each actor’s role stands out, make it even better. The primary tension is not actually between Andrew and Naehring, but between Naehring, Crawley, and Sheridan. Crawley is definitely trying to mollify Teddy, but he is not being obstructive because there is no investigation. He’s attempting to play along with Andrew’s delusion, where he is painted as a shady character. Naehring, on the other hand, is purposefully trying to rile Andrew up; he believes Andrew cannot be cured, only controlled via lobotomy, and he is trying to stir a violent outburst to prove his point. His look to Crawley after “Excellent defense mechanism,” is saying that Andrew’s delusions are simply too strong to be broken down by roleplay. Later in the film he even admits to provoking Andrew because “What doesn’t provoke you, Marshal?” His motive isn’t related to being a Nazi, as Andrew assumes, but instead to being a psychiatrist who resents being asked to defer to a dangerous patient. He still is an obstacle to Andrew, but to his recovery, not any mission.
Dr. Sheridan is stuck between the two; he has to keep Andrew on his side, but at the same time is trying to contain him. His discomfort at the tension between Andrew and Naehring stems from the fact that he realizes exactly what Naehring is trying to do; he glances from them to Crawley as to say “What should I do about this? How do I keep this under control without blowing cover?” Naehring outranks him, so only Crawley has the authority to keep Naehring in line; Sheridan can only do damage control and keep an eye out for Andrew’s temper flaring.
Teddy’s flashback to Dachau is interesting; Naehring is talking about violence, but Teddy flashes back to the time he watched a Nazi officer slowly bleed to death. He confides to Chuck later in the film that he was deeply affected by the execution of the prison guards, but when faced with a German man telling him about violence, he thinks to a non-violent moment. Forcing the officer into a slow death is cruel, but not inherently violent. Visually, the imagery of the papers falling like snow could be linked to the snow covering the bodies of innocent people, or Chuck’s “paper pushers” line, but thematically this particular flashback relates to cruelty, of both the Nazis and Andrew. An integral part of Andrew’s delusion is the fear of Nazi-esque experiments performed on patients; it is not literally violence, but it is still a conscious decision to hurt another human being. Andrew’s mind is drawing a parallel between him and the Nazis, specifically Nazi scientists, causing a sense of guilt, assuming the event even occurred. Regardless, there is a deeper level to this guilt; if this memory is completely fabricated, then it would represent the guilt he feels about Dolores and his children (note the similarity to the first shot of the Nazi officer to Dolores’ position after Andrew kills her). The overwhelming guilt that fuels his delusions is twofold; by ignoring Dolores’ bipolar disorder, he indirectly killed his children, and he also watches his wife die. Naehring’s words cut to the core of his illness with only a tangential reference to the actual subject manner being discussed.
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