Shutter Island (2010)

Film: Shutter Island
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Here is the trailer for the 2010 Drama/Mystery/Psychological Thriller film Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams and Ben Kingsley.

I chose this as a good example of an effective trailer which targets its' audience well and builds suspense throughout which would create interest for a viewer. The way the trailer is edited, along with the general mis-en-scene and the music used creates a very exciting, interesting and extremely watchable trailer which would entice people to go and see it in the cinema.

The trailer starts with an ominous piece of music with a shot of a ship looming out of a grey fog over the sea, which highlights the use of pathetic fallacy to create an eerie atmosphere and it also indicates the general dark, uneasy and gloomy feel of the film. There is then a quick cut to a view of the island which looks bleak, dark and frightening. There is non-diegetic speech over the image which is Leonardo DiCaprio's voice - the main protagonist in the film. The phrase 'mental hospital for the criminally insane' are mentioned right at the start which tells the audience that the film is based at a mental institution and that is what 'Shutter Island' is. There is then a scene with two security officers slowly opening the gates to a bleak-looking building and there is a shrill and scary screech as there is quick clips of images like chains and shackles, a hand running down a dark wall, graveyards, patients being dragged through the grounds and a dimly-lit cell or chamber. These images are supposed to be scary and make you feel uneasy, as well as intrigued about the plot of the film.

Throughout the trailer there is non-diegetic speech as well as music and shrill sound effects to build mystery and suspense. Other images that are cut or faded to each other like a patient hunched in the corner of a dark cell with iron bars and dark windows with rain hammering against them, as well as a birds eye view of the hospital which looks like a prison or concentration camp with heavily-armed guards patrolling around and above it. Other phrases like 'dangerous and damaged patients' are featured and you are introduced to DiCaprio's character, Teddy, who is a policeman (Federal Marshal) who gives the guards of the institution his fire arm, which is shown in slow motion to highlight the severity of this action, and hinting that it was a mistake to surrender it. The dress code of the main character highlights authority as he is in a suit and the close-up of the gun also indicates authority, security and power. You see them enter the grounds of the hospital and a scary-looking female patient is focused on who puts her finger to her lips and says 'shhhh' to the policeman who looks away uneasily.

The music used is dark and ominous, getting louder and more abrupt when each scene skips to another, especially towards the end of the trailer which builds the tempo of the music, with the cuts between shots becoming faster and faster and therefore building suspense towards the climax of the trailer. There is typical features of trailers such as a dark screen coming up through clips of the film which have 'Directed by Martin Scorsese' and 'Leonardo DiCaprio' etc on them, giving the viewer more information on the film, as well as highlighting that Scorcese directed the film and Dicaprio is starring in it which would influence their fans to go and see it.

You are then introduced to the plot of the film, as Teddy meets the main Doctor of the hospital who explains that a female patient had gone missing and that is why they are there. The doctor is asked 'is she considered dangerous?', to which he replies, 'you could say that' which builds tension and mystery and other disturbing images flash onto the screen such as a hand quickly reaching through the bars of a cell and the policemen standing on the edge of a cliff looking over a lighthouse in the sea, the colours bleak and grey. The doctor says that the patient seemed to had 'evaporated through the walls' which is quite a supernatural and unusual phrase which would intrigue an audience. The dotcor's accent is more well-spoken than the policemen's highlighting that he is from an academic and well-educated background as the policeman has a strong New York accent. This highlights how accents add to the mis-en-scene of the trailer and give you an idea of the characters backgrounds as well as touching on class and regional identity.

Throughout the rest of the trailer, the story unfolds as the policeman discovers a note found in the missing patient's room which implies there is a 67th patient at the institution, which triggers him to delve deeper and find out about conspiracy theories and the dark secrets of the hospital. Other disturbing images are shown, such a frightening-looking man with scars on his face and the lonely lighthouse against a bleak sky. This symbolises that the lighthouse is relevant to the dark secrets of the institution as Teddy stands alone on the cliff edge looking at the light house. He is then shown to be speaking to a woman by a fire who asks him if he has been taking any medication from the hospital, which cuts to a clip of him taking pills and looking dazed and confused. The female voice says 'you haven't been seeing any walking nightmares have you, Marshal?' which cuts to him walking through a lounge on fire and reaching out towards a blonde woman stood in front of him, possibly highlighting a dream or hallucination. He is then shown to be stood in the middle of a large room in the institution, looking around quickly looking uneasy and paranoid with the sound of monkeys screeching, implying that things are unusual and wrong and he is possibly going insane. The use of these scenes create a nightmarish feel to the film and implies that the protagonist's mental state deteriorates throughout film, reinforcing the psychological thriller genre.

From this point the pace of the trailer picks up as Teddy is shown to be running through the institution and through the dark chambers and corridors of the institution dressed in a patient's clothes, with images of patients in the depths of the hospital are kept. The use of this dress code implies that Teddy's authority and control of the situation has decreased and now he is demoted from an authoritative figure to a victim.He is then shown to be speaking to a male patient behind bars with a disfigured and bloody face who says 'you're a rat in a maze'. The non-diegetic commentary of DiCaprio's voice sounding suspicious cuts to him speaking to the woman by the fire again who says 'they can't let you leave'. The tempo of the trailer picks up as Dicaprio is shown to be running up black, iron stairs, then holding a shot gun along a corridor which cuts to the image of a dark female silhouette floating in dim waters, to him hanging off the edge of a cliff face and to him holding the blonde woman in his arms as she fades away to leave him standing alone with ash floating down around him. The cutting between clips and images towards the end of the trailer is fast paced, showing clips of the film which do not make sense together but build excitement and suspense with a shrill and elevating soundtrack. The climax of the trailer is a long-shot of the island looking bleak and frightening, with the image fading into what looks like a piece of paper with 'Shutter Island' in bold letters and black ink smudges staining the page and leaking through it. The last thing that is said by a female voice is 'You will never leave this island' and a hand is shown to appear from the edge of the cliff and grab a rock, with a loud and abrupt noise.

I think this is a brilliant and effective trailer as is reveals the general plot of the film without giving too much information away which most trailers do, which therefore spoils the mystery and surprise of films. Throughout the trailer I was hooked, with suspense and tension building throughout and with the use of an ominous but thrilling piece of music, pathetic fallacy and lack of bright colour as well as the fast-paced cuts and editing, it is a very successful trailer which would entice anyone to go and see it, especially fans of mystery thrillers and horror films. The use of locations, accents and dress codes as well as props are key to reinforcing and adding to the mis-en-scene and 'feel' of the film and all these technical codes effectively 'sell' the film to the audience whilst supporting the genre of the film.

This film was promoted with above-the-line promotion as it was advertised through the mall media, with TV and cinematic trailers, billboards, posters and magazine features. The film had a scheduled release for October 2nd 2009, but the release date was pushed back as DiCaprio was not available to promote the film at the time as well as Paramount Pictures not having enough money to promote a big release like 'Shutter Island'. This highlights the significance of DiCaprio as the protagonist of the film and how his international status is important to a production like this and also how important it is to have a significant amount of money behind a film release in order to promote in appropriately.