Shadowing Practice: SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) Breakdown | Ending Explained, Easter Eggs, Hidden Details & Things You Missed - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So Shutter Island's one of those movies
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that lived rent free in my head even though I'd only watched the film a handful of times.
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After picking up the 4K Bluray
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and revisiting it for this breakdown I found a lot of incredible details
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and hidden things in it that seeped into my subconscious on the first watch
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and this really elevated the movie far beyond the appreciation that I had for it originally.
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Scorsese has really crafted a masterpiece here and throughout this video we're gonna be breaking down why the film is so haunting.
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We'll of course also be talking about the ending thing and all of the clues that build up towards it.
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Now I was someone who guessed the twist in the first scene on my first watch.
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Not to brag
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but the idea it was all in someone's mind is a trope that's been used in a number of films
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and shows like
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The Twilight Zone, Fight Club, The Machinist and so on.
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However, even though I think you can safely guess it in the opening scene,
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the film actually goes beyond the twist due to it's complex characters and narrative.
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Even the title itself is layered with Shutter Island being an anagram of truth and lies.
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If we're really reaching, it can also be rearranged to say
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Ted hunts liars with DiCaprio's character going under the name Teddy Daniels.
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This is later changed up to become Edward Daniels and we discover
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that he's actually called Andrew Latis which is also an anagram of Edward Daniels.
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Later on when we meet Latis we can see
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that he has a giant scar across his face that also goes through his eyebrow.
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One thing that you might not notice is
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that Teddy also has a cut through his eyebrow and
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And this was given to Dicaprio by the makeup department to symbolise that they're one and the same.
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Now what I appreciate about the ending is
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that this isn't a movie where it pulls the twist out of thin air at the end
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and instead it's telegraphed to us in multiple scenes.
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We start off on a boat rather than a dock which is where we see Teddy meeting his partner Chuck.
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You think that they would meet on the shore and the fact
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that it's here shows that this is where the game begins rather than Teddy being an actual person.
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Chuck is later revealed to be Dr Sheehan
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and this is actually given away subtly during a moment in which the pair both interview a patient.
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Look at this again and she glances at Mark Ruffalo's character upon the mention of Dr Sheehan.
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The scene is actually filled with lots of little details and behind both the patient and Teddy we can see two guards.
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When we get to the shots of Chuck there isn't anyone standing guard behind him
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because as we know he's a doctor and not a patient.
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One of the best moments in the scenes when the patient goes to take a drink from a glass of water.
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She raises it to her mouth but if you pause the frame
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and look closely at her hand you'll see that there's actually nothing there.
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We then get a quick cut of her putting the glass back on the table which is when the fantasy continues.
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Water is very symbolic in the movie as we learn
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that Teddy's wife drowned their children which is what caused his mental psyche to break down.
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This is why it's important for the character to start off on a boat and we're first introduced to Teddy being sick.
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He says...
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...and water is very much the first test to start off this quote unquote simulation.
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It's later removed from the patient to not trigger him as we can see how devastating it is for the character here.
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Now another thing that you might notice about Teddy is that he has a bandaid on his head.
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We call him elastoplasts in England which I'll not force
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that on you my American viewers don't you worry about that the thumbs up's right there.
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Anyway this symbolically also represents the guilt that he's repressing.
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Now the entire situation he's concocted in his mind is very much him metaphorically placing a bandaid over the guilt
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he carries over killing his wife.
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Come the end of the movie it's removed showing how he's faced up to the trauma and has taken this away.
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Another nice touch when we see Teddy throughout the movie is that his clothes don't actually fit him.
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This is something I only really noticed on this watch through as I always just assumed
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that it was the style at the time.
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However if you look at the other doctors in suits you can see
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that clothes would've been tailored
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and them being ill fitting on the characters shows how they were likely just grabbed off a rack
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so that they could be worn as part of the roleplay.
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Now in the background we can hear the music thumping away
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and it might surprise you to learn that absolutely no new music was composed for the film.
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Every single piece used in the movie is from a library of scores released in the 30s to 50s
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that Scorsese pulled from in order to add atmosphere.
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Whether this extends beyond just being noise in the background around
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and due to the nature of the film very much all being an act by the asylum it definitely adds to it.
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I'm sure everyone watching this video has played make believe at some point in their life
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and they pretended to be someone that they're not.
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I used to think I was James Bond
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and had pretty much hummed the theme tune in my head the entire time when I was doing it.
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It was about two years ago I'll be honest and I think the musical choices here represent the same thing.
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This is all Andrew playing along and the score being pulled from other films adds to his perception of it.
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I'm gonna be calling him Teddy for the most part just to stop things getting confusing
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and it's important to bear in mind that they are indeed the same person.
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Chuck asks him if he's got a girl and we then see flashbacks of his wife.
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Scorsese plays with us during the scene
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and we get a cut to the water before getting a freeze frame out of her.
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This of course symbolises how she drowned their children
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and the freeze frame is almost a mental block put in place by Teddy to stop him from seeing the connection.
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Scorsese uses freeze frames in a lot of his movies
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and the director often does this to make sure we're paying attention to the scene.
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Teddy then says his wife died during a fire which of course is very much the opposite to water.
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This shows he's concocted the complete opposite story in his mind in order to save himself from the pain.
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Fire is very important in the movie as well and this is shown to us at several points.
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We discover that Dolores set fire to their apartment as a way to end her own life
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which is when they moved out to the lake.
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However it's usage goes far beyond that.
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We see Teddy smoking throughout the film but cigarettes and lights are always given to him by someone else.
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Teddy doesn't even have his own pack which is highlighted to us in this opening scene.
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The fact they're always let by someone else is also done for a specific reason.
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Inmates wouldn't be allowed to run free on the island with a box of matches
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or a lighter and therefore these are kept away from Teddy.
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However he does later get his hands on some when he goes to visit George Noice.
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Now it's possible that this is even a hallucination by him as he sparks one up
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but it disappears when he gets to the bars.
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He seemingly lights up another one but this triggers a hallucination of his wife standing in the corner.
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Fire also gets a major focus in two key scenes later on.
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The first is when Teddy seemingly finds Rachel Solando in a cliffside cave.
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We watch as the fire dominates the shot and it takes up a large part of the frame as the two talk.
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However we can see that Teddy's hands are still shaking
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and though infused cigarettes are blamed for this I don't think that's true.
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We know from the ending that he's not being drugged
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and thus this is suggesting that the fire isn't actually there because it's not keeping him warm.
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Now a fire also plays a big part with Dr Jeremiah and it too appears in his vision with latest later on.
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Therefore I believe the fire is all in his mind
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and the water represents the reality whereas fire represents the illusion that he's given to himself.
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This is why the lighthouse where the revelation happens is surrounded by water
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and even Teddy's mission to escape means
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that he has to go to the dock which is of course also surrounded by it.
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Juxtaposing this later sits in front of a fire
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and Teddy of course says his wife died in one when in reality it was all connected to water.
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Beyond this I also think that the storm is a fake too.
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We have a weird point where he wakes up
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and we're told the storm has passed but we still see a flash of lightning.
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There's also the damage that the storm does throughout which destroys trees and parts of the asylum.
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We visit the courtyard at one point which looks worse than the youtube comment section with trees scattered everywhere.
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Once the truth is revealed at the end though we can't see any of this
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and there's no way they could have fixed this all so quickly.
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When they run into the storm we also get this line from the guard.
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Which I think if taken literally shows this could all be made up.
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Therefore I think the storm is simply used as a narrative device by the doctors to keep them confined to the island.
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Storms are of course symbolic as they of course bring water with them
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and this could very much be washing the island of Teddy's delusions.
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Now upon the shore we get another clear clue that something is off.
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This happens when the guards all stand around menacingly looking at Teddy with their guns drawn.
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This is at the start of the experiment and they're naturally apprehensive that he could go wild at any second.
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Now upon reaching the asylum they're asked to hand their weapons over.
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Chuck has some difficulty drawing his from his holster
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and instead he just hands over the entire thing with the gun inside of it.
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Chuck is supposed to be a US Marshal
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that would have likely drawn his weapon several times
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but the fact he can't do this again hints to something being off with him.
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Now in the garden we get a patient that looks at Teddy and she does a shush motion.
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This could be a case of her basically hinting at what's really going on however it could go far beyond that.
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Fitzwallaby on Reddit theorise that she herself had a lobotomy and this can be seen by her missing hair.
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She has a large scar across her neck, bloodshot eyes and something just seems off about her.
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These are all signs of a violent patient
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and yet she's allowed to wander around the garden with tools that could easily be used as weapons.
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The only way they'd allow her to do this is
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if she'd been lobotomised and the shush motion could be done to warn Teddy
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that if he doesn't keep quiet that he could end up like her.
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Now at this point we meet John Corley played by Ben Kingsley.
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Though the way he's presented can make him come across as a villain, he's actually the good guy in all of this.
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He set up this elaborate scheme to try
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and cure Teddy rather than going with the lobotomy which the other doctors were suggesting.
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Now apparently they're here to catch Rachel Solondo who we get the backstory filled in on.
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She killed all three of her children.
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She drowned them in the lake behind her house.
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She also believes this places her home in the Berkshires.
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To sustain the delusion that her children never died she's created an elaborate fictional structure
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and she gives us all parts to play in that fiction.
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Again tying back to the idea of anagrams we see at the end
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that Rachel Solondo changes to Dolores Chanel aka Teddy's wife or Andrew's wife.
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Now we also hear that her husband died during Normandy
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and we know that Teddy helped to liberate a concentration camp during the second world war
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which also added to fracturing his psyche.
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He says sanity is not a choice and this could be heading towards a choice that Teddy makes at the end.
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I've always been someone who thought that he was well aware of the monster
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that he was and that he decided to spare himself of the pain
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but we'll talk about that more later on in the video.
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Now Rachel was apparently locked in her room but she managed to escape by seemingly evaporating through a wall.
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This again hints that she doesn't actually exist and in her cell Teddy finds an O under a dislodged tile.
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The Law of Four here of course refers to the names being anagrams
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and Patient 67 is later revealed to be Andrew Laides aka Teddy.
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We even get a doctor admiring the Law of Four later on
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and how clever it is showing how he's in on it.
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The search then begins on the bluffs and here we see some of the guards just sitting around doing nothing.
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This is because they know that Rachel doesn't exist and that it's pointless searching for her.
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Teddy also asks what the lighthouse is and the guard says...
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What's in there?
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More patients?
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The sewage treatment facility.
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Now Teddy is seen as one of the most violent offenders on the island
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and the sewage treatment facility could be the guard basically saying
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what he thinks of the guy who's gonna end up getting his final stage of treatment there.
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We later learn from noise that this is where they carry out the lobotomies
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so the line shows what some of the staff think about the criminally insane.
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From here they question the orderlies, whoa is that
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Tommy from power?
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And much like how the patient gave away
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Chuck was Dr Sheehan, we see the nurse doing the same thing when she's pressed on him.
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She glances at Chuck both times again showing who he truly is.
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I was told Sheehan left on vacation that morning on a boat
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and this of course did a lap and then brought them back to the island.
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Teddy orders that they try
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and contact him however the storm's apparently destroyed the lines on
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the mainland again showing how the storm is used to keep things centralised to the island.
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The operator here is clearly playing along and
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when the trio leave we can see him turning around almost as if to check it's okay to drop the act.
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They then go to Corley's house and we see a record playing.
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This two showed up at the start when Teddy was thinking about his wife
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and it's something that later appears with the revelation with the same song being used.
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It's also something that he saw in the concentration camp
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and the fact that Teddy suspects Dr Jeremiah is a Nazi is a sliver
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that ties back into his time during the second world war.
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Nazi Zionists of course carried out experiments in the concentration camps and the doctor represents everything he hates.
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Interestingly this piece is Gustav Mahler's piano quartet in A minor.
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This was actually banned in Germany during the war due to the composer being Jewish.
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This could be chosen for that specific reason with it showing the contradictions that exist in the movie.
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This is true as well as Teddy's able to concoct this entire fantasy to defend himself from the truth.
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He psychoanalyses Teddy and says that he's a man of violence
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which he would only really be aware of if he knew the character beforehand.
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When they go to sleep Teddy has a dream about his wife who very much tells them the truth.
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She does this throughout all the hallucinations and here she says that Rachel is here.
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This is signifying that she is her but the way we're meant to take it is that she's still on the island.
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Water starts to see from her abdomen along with blood and this was the location where Teddy shot her.
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Teddy wraps his arms around her and this moment resembles the painting
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The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.
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She also tells him that Andrew Ledes is here too
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which carries a double meaning that sends him off on his quest to find him.
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From here they start questioning the patients and the first one brings up a glass of water.
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They also speak with Mrs Kearns who I believe is actually a friend of Teddy.
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Like him she killed her partner and she seems to want to protect him.
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When asked if she knows Andrew latest she gets up and walks out and she also writes run in the character's notepad.
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The fact that she does this makes me believe that they were close.
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and that she was trying to warn him about what was really going on.
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Look at her reaction with this in mind and I think it becomes clear that this entire scenario is breaking her heart.
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Did you ever meet a patient named Andrew Laidus?
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No, never heard of it.
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At this point Teddy and Chuck head out
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and the former admits he requested the case because Andrew Laidus lit the match which caused the fire that killed his wife.
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He's slowly starting to piece it together
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and they head to the graveyard as it's the one place no one would notice a body being hid.
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Teddy tells Chuck about what happened when he reached the concentration camp
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and we learn that he and his platoon gunned down the guards that they were supposed to arrest.
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I'm gonna ruin this scene cause it was ruined for me but when we go along the guards,
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right at the end you can catch one on the floor smirking before he then plays dead.
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I bloody hope you're blacklisted from Hollywood, you ruined the movie, you fer.
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A paranoia starts to see
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Ben as it's revealed that Hedy was gonna blow the lid on the experiments that were being carried out on the island.
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Thus he starts to suspect he was brought in by the shrinks to get him
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so that he could stop everything getting out.
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The fake Rachel is presented to them
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and you can see the reactions by the characters as they start to figure things out.
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Love the little smirks they do here almost nodding along like he's finally figured it out.
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Rachel talks about how she drowned her children
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and after telling the story she starts to act like his wife foreshadowing the anagram reveal.
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That night Teddy has a dream that he sees Rachel and her child amongst the camp victims.
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The child stands up and says that you should have saved us all
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and this represents the guilt that Teddy feels over not taking his wifes mental issues seriously.
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She told him about it but he brushed it off and this eventually led to their deaths.
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He also sees my man Casey Jones playing Latis who lights up a match and holds it to his face.
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He is the delusion and the match being held up this way continues the idea that he's the embodiment of this.
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Rachel arrives during this and shows him the murder of their children and Dolores then comes in and Teddy says this line.
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This actually foreshadows this line later on.
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This then pays off at the end in one of the final scenes we get.
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Now the next day they head into the restricted ward and they're approached by a guard who does this upon leaving.
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This is such a creepy moment and it might even make you think that an inmate has dressed up as a god.
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However in hindsight he clearly finds the whole game hilarious and is laughing at Teddy and how ridiculous this all is.
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Eventually he then comes across Noice who gives the entire game away.
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Very obvious one but hey we're just being thorough.
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This is the first time that Teddy's been alone on the island though
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and it's important to bear in mind as to why Noice doesn't keep up the illusion here.
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Noice directs him to the lighthouse and both he and Chuck end up heading out to it.
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Chuck seemingly takes a fall over the edge though with his body lying on the rocks below.
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This is later washed away by water, symbolising that it was never real.
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The thing that pulls him back into the illusion is the fire from the cave
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which is where he meets the quote unquote real Rachel.
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She says...
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You were a nurse?
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I was a doctor marshal.
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This is clearly her commenting on her actual role and why she's being given such a high profile role in the illusion.
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She spouts off about how the island is secretly trying to build super soldiers through brainwashing people
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and removing parts of their brains so that they feel nothing.
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That morning we see Teddy asleep
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and there's another flash of lightning even though there's no storm again hitting at things being off.
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Peaked up by the warden, my man Buffalo Bill spouts off about violence and he tells Teddy that he's as violent as they come.
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Upon making it back to the mainland we see the patients being out that Teddy interviewed earlier.
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They are clearly pointing at him
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and even the gods tell them to stop looking at him so that they don't give the game away.
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They clearly say stop looking at him and Corley says
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that someone got so wound up by Noises stories that they beat him up a couple of weeks ago.
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This is revealed to be Teddy and we discover later that he called him latest which is what broke him.
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Now it's revealed that this exercise has been carried out before with Teddy
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and it worked but he regressed which is why they're trying one final time.
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Corley also says and Teddy then showers very much representing the cold reality that he's just been given.
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He wants more runs into Dr. Jeremiah who f*s bumbles with a needle in his hand.
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Though it seems like they're trying to drug him because he's exposing what they're potentially doing, this is actually because he's terrified Teddy might lash out.
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Teddy believes that
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Chuck has been kidnapped and that they're using him in the experiments.
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He then sees a vision of Dolores and says
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that he wears the tie because she gave it to him but that it's ugly.
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Nice way to say thanks for the gift.
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He ends up using it to destroy a car, once more shedding a part of his past.
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The fire Peter washes over his wife and daughter
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but they don't die and thus it once more hammers home the idea that this element represents an illusion.
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Before it blows he sees what's apparently Rachels daughter and she walks over to Dolores.
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This is actually her child and this is another clue that it's the pair who are related.
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Teddy dives into the water before swimming to the lighthouse
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and this is very much a baptism for him that reveals the truth.
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Cawley then starts to bring everything to light with Chuck revealing that he's actually his doctor.
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The pair want to avoid the lobotomy as they think that
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if the pair come to the revelations of what they've done on their own
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that they'll be able to heal themselves without the need for surgery.
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Teddy, or well Andrew, we'll call him that from now to stop the confusion,
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Andrew grabs his gun and fires away which makes it seem like the doctor was hit.
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The fantasy keeps up for a split second but it fades and the gun is revealed to be a toy.
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Andrew is then shown the corpses of his children including his daughter Rachel who he dreams about nightly.
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She tells him that he could have saved her and this is the final thing that makes him realise the truth.
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But watching the scene play out we see Andrew shitting his wife
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and he wakes up in a scene similar to The Wizard of Oz.
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Everyone is around his bedside including the nurse who played Rachel originally.
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We learn that Andrew created these fantasies because he couldn't face up to what happened with his wife and also their children.
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He blames himself for all of it
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because he refused to get his wife help and it seems like there's finally been a breakthrough.
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However, one way or another Andrew wants to hide the truth from himself.
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The initial regression was carried out because he couldn't face up to it
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and realising that he'll now have to live with it, I believe that he plays up the fantasy once more so that he's lobotomised.
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When he sits down with Dr Sheehan he says to him
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that he has to go back to the mainland and calls him Chuck.
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It's a heartbreaking moment and watching the performance that
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Mark Ruffalo gives here really carries the scene.
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Just the subtle nod to the dark death tells us
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so much and we see the defeat wash over him as he realises his more gentler tactics have failed.
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Andrew then says this...
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Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?
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And it's a line that I think will haunt everyone who sees this movie.
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I think it's said to Chuck to let him know
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that this kind of approach worked however he cannot live with himself and it's just too devastating.
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He willingly walks forward to his lobotomy
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and had he really been in the fantasy I don't think the character would have carried this out
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but it's what Andrew wishes to do and we end the film with a shot on the lighthouse summing up his fate.
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It's something that's stuck with me since I first saw it
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and I hope you've enjoyed our retread through the movie and all the clues in it.
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Obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts on the film so make sure you comment below and let me know.
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I know there's people who think Teddy does go back into
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the fantasy at the end rather than being a choice
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so let me know below what you think as there's a hell of a lot to talk about.
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Now if you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of Memento
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which will be linked on screen right now.
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It's a really great in depth video going over everything in the movie
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and hopefully I see you over there right after this.
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That out the way I've been Paul, this is The Heavy Spoilers Show and I hope to see you next time.
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You take care, enjoy 2023, all the best, peace.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) Breakdown”. This video has 335 sentences and 4661 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:11. The speaker talks fast, about 201 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| illusion noun | /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/ | A distortion of sensory perception where real stimuli lead to a false or misleading impression of reality. |
| lighthouse noun | /ˈlaɪthaʊs/ | A tower or other structure exhibiting a light or lights to warn or guide sailors. |
| experiment noun | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of… |
| concentration noun | /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The act, process or ability of concentrating; the process of becoming concentrated, or the state of being concentrated. |
| clue noun | /kluː/ | Information which may lead one to a certain point or conclusion. |
| seemingly adverb | /ˈsiːmɪŋli/ | As it appears; apparently. |
| drown verb | /dɹaʊn/ | To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid. |
| violent adjective | /ˈvaɪ.ə.lənt/ | Involving extreme force or motion. |
| reveal verb | /ɹɪˈviːl/ | To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden. |
| nurse noun | /nɝs/ | Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession. |
| discover verb | /dɪˈskʌvə/ | To find or learn something for the first time. |
| ruin noun | /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ | The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. |
| twist verb | /twɪst/ | To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. |
| guilt noun | /ɡɪlt/ | Responsibility for wrongdoing. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| face up to verb | To confront a condition or situation, typically one that is unpleasant or uncomfortable. | |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. | |
| give away verb | To make a gift of (something). | |
| light up verb | To illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten. | |
| play along verb | To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has really crafted · that's been · has taken |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is layered · be rearranged · was given |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who guessed · Latis which is · dock which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 63 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, thumb /ˈθʌm/, thorough /ˈθʌɹoʊ/, breakthrough /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, wash /wɑʃ/, flash /flæʃ/, shore /ʃɔɹ/
- Long words — get the stress right: experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, elaborate /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/, revelation /ˌɹɛv.əˈleɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like illusion, lighthouse, experiment.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.