The opening of shutter island reveals to the audience that their destination, a prison, is very isolated conveying a sense of danger and uncertainty. The weather is gloomy and foggy indicating mystery to the audience. The main characters arrive on a boat, the water is a dirty grey colour (as opposed to blue) which is normally found in colder countries, this could have importance later in the narrative as the location is yet to be revealed.
2. What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters?
The set up reveals that the two main characters are likely to be detective partners sent by the same agency as they seemed to know each other. The character Teddy Daniels does very little in the opening yet the audience can tell that he's most likely a serious character - not a happy facial expression in the first 5 minutes, also a character very dedicated to his work - choosing a career that involves ferrying out to isolated places shows really commitment and love for the job, this career choice could also lead us to believe that he is quite a selfish character as loved ones around him would be worrying that he has to carry a gun for self defence, so could easily get hurt and works away from home for long periods of time.
3. What does the set up reveal to the audience about interrelationships between characters?
The producers dressed the two detectives in very similar clothing, this in indicates that they probably have similar goals in the narrative which could lead them to working together to achieve what they came for. The negative facial expressions form Teddy during his welcoming conversation with the main guard suggests that their relationship is unlikely to be smooth or for them to see eye to eye.
4. What is this ‘world’ like?
The world within the narrative is likely to be dark, mysterious and dangerous. The weather is evidence for this as its dark and foggy. The unsettling non-diegetic mood music when still on the boat makes the audience feel uneasy and portrays the destination as strange and unsafe.
5. What possible conflicts or strains are there that will become part of the story later on?
The prison guards could potentially become a problem later on in the narrative as they tend to be stuck in their ways and strict about rules (as they should be), but this could become a problem when the detectives are trying to achieve their goals, the detectives could get deserted on the island and have to find another way to leave other than by boat, they could possibly even uncover something that the guard didn't want them to know leading the to be captured ad have to find an escape route.
6. How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of Thriller films?
The setting is a typical thriller setting, a prison because it's dangerous and something is likely to go wrong and twist the plot. Detectives are very common characters to be used in thriller films as they too involve danger and the possibility of misinterpretations leading to plot twisters. Unfortunately from the opening alone we can't tell if there's a 'femme fetale' yet which is a very common thriller character.
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