Leo's character did know at the end what had happened. He remembered everything, and he couldn't take the pain of remembering so he pretended that he slipped back into delusion, just so his pain would be taken away.
I can't believe that both Inception and Shutter Island came out in 2010, both had Oscar-worthy performances by Leonard DiCaprio, and yet, he didn't even get a nomination for them. It's insane to me.
Leo and the Oscar is a strange pairing. he was nominated many times, should have been nominated more, like for this movie, in the 2010s it became a meme that Leo is nominated for best actor but wouldn't win it, he won it for Revenant, afterwards people said he should have won it for wolf of wall street instead.
@@ThePuschkin1986 respectfully, I’m glad he won it for The Revenant, but I do agree that he should have won it for The Wolf Of Wall Street along with The Revenant, but that’s just my opinion. He deserved one for this and many more, too.
There is a moment where Sir Ben Kingsley's character said: "Sanity is not an option" -- But at the end is suggested that Leo's character made the choice of being declared as insane. "Which would be worst? To live as a monster or to die as a good man?"
@@-M0LE but he viewed himself as such because he said his wife gave him so many clues that’s she’s not mentally well by saying she feels an insect inside her head crawling and pulling nerve wires and he ignored it which ended up having her kill their children. Also he ends up having to kill his wife because she asked to be free so now he blames himself for all 4 murders. Was he a monster in our eyes? No he was a monster in his and in the ending he definitely was sane and chose to be lobotomy in order to be free himself of the pain.
And the end actually validates the statement of Kingsley's character, because he wants to be insane again, he doesn't want to face reality and live as this monster he thinks he is. But he CAN'T choose to go back to his dreamland again, he can't do that willingly, be insane. The only choice left is to fake it so they lobotomize him to make the pain go away.
What defines a first tell? I could say that the very first shot of the movie started on a boat near the island. Nothing in the movie’s present took place outside of the island.
Perhaps all wrong - Teddy telling himself to pull himself together in a mirror, and being frightened of water seems kind of hinting at his broken psyche
Cassie, he wanted the lobotomy, (to die a good man rather than live as a monster), so he pretended to regress back to the Teddy persona. We're witnessing a kind of suicide at the end.
When Leonardo realizes his children are dead in the lake is so heart-wrenching. His yelp is so primal like a wild banshee is so intense. That is beyond acting. He makes you feel like his whole world collapsed at that moment. Plus the director uses a great overhead shot to give the desperation needed for the scene. Great writing, acting, and directing. Great movie.
This is a testament not just to Leo's acting but to Marty's directing. Yelling "No!" up into the sky while holding the body of a loved one has become a cliche,, a shorthand for genuine emotion and most of the time it is laughable (see IN TIME for example). but the directing and acting of this film is so superlative that it actually earns this trope, it makes it feel authentic and consequently affecting.
@@nawlsone586 have always felt the same way to his scream as Mal jumps in Inception. As said above, all the superlatives said about him as an actor are fully deserved.
I' heard a man scream like that IRL. It was earlier this year, actually. He came home to police waiting for him at the parking lot. His wife had called the cops on him, saying he killed their children. - It turned out that it was her.
@@saucelord780 guess you dont know what the p***y possy is then huh? Corny? That word doesnt mean what you think it means. And what would be so bad about judging someone on their views? If he thought robbery shouldnt be a crime, could i judge him for that? If he said everyone else has to stop producing co2 but flys his private jet around the world to bang women, can i judge him for that? I guess youre one of those people who doesnt like it when people point out how terrible the people he is a fan of actually are. You like his because he says words in movies, and will defend what a terrible person he is in real life. Get your priorities straight.
There's no shame in not seeing a twist ending coming. Directors and actors work hard to conceal it, while retroactively making sense. Plus its much more fun (mind-blowing) as an audience member when you don't see the twist coming. You get to watch the movie twice and have it be great both times.
One of those movies that need multiple viewings to catch all the clues. The guards reactions to certain things (sitting around throwing rocks while supposedly searching for Rachel) the patients reactions, Mark Ruffalos expressions and who he looks at, and when, and how.
I actually recently found out who the "warden" was in that "other" movie... and it freaked me the hell out.. :^O because I knew him as Leland Stottlemeyer from TV's Monk
@@georgekellon2471 I remember having the exact same epiphany awhile back (also, fun fact, Seth Green originally based the voice of Chris Griffin from Family Guy on that character)
@@christopheratkins6640 almost, Seth specifically used his portrayal of Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs because he thought it would be funny for the FG audition. Which is why in one episode Chris does the scene where he tucks and dances in front of a mirror, as a wink to the origins of the voice. (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7fHzchaFQkI.html)
At the end, Teddy(Leo DiCaprio) KNEW what he had done. Some giveaways- 1. When axe-my-husband lady said Dr Sheeyan isn't hard on the eyes, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) grinned, kinda blushed. (He was revealed as Dr. Sheeyan at the end) 2. Teddy was uncomfortable with water throughout this movie. Nauseous in the sea, DIDN'T see the water in axe-my-husband lady's glass. It's because of his trauma of his kids drowning in WATER. 3. At the end he says, "Which would be worse? To die as a monster or to die as a good man?" This meant he had accepted what he had done and would rather be dead(lobotomised) than be alive with the guilt/knowledge of what he had done.
Why though? Everybody agrees including his own doctor that they would have killed the wife too. I understand him being crazy but that stems from him blaming himself and he shouldn't.
@@TheSYPHERIA I agree that it stems from Teddy blaming himself. But hear me out. I am not sure if Teddy was a vet, but if he was, that's an insane amount of trauma from WW2. Then imagine your wife being so sick she kills their children and Teddy couldn't get her help. Death of one child is life shattering. Death of all his children AND killing his wife is too intense for him to bear. I am not sure even if I would be able to keep my sanity in that case. Edit- I guess he is blaming himself for not getting her help. But the circumstances outside of not getting her help are too strong and mind-bending than any one would like to be in.
My opinion has always been that Leo was fully lucid and sane at the end. His line "is it better to live as a monster or die as a free man?" shows that he's choosing to be lobotomized because he can't live with what he did so he's choosing to die as teddy, the "good man". Another piece of evidence comes as he's walking away and Mark Ruffalo's character calls after him "Teddy" and he doesn't respond, because he is only pretending to identify as Teddy.
the last line he says to Chuck is your answer - the "roleplay" worked, he just opted to pretend to be a good guy (the marshall investigating the case) as opposed to being the grief stricken husband who killed his wife.
He also massacred the nazis (bad guys but it still a massacre nonetheless) so not only did he got traumatized after the war and became alcoholic but the death of his children is the last straw that finally make him insane.
You definitely won't see the ending coming, but once you understand it. It make a second viewing even better than the first. Live as a monster. Or die as a good man.
When he was gathering up his kids in the water, you could hear my heart break out loud. That was one of the most jarring scenes I have ever seen in my life. Leo played that part so well.
@@Danjon1235 Right? I'm actually a 53 year old two time Grandpa. I've been raising babies for a big chunk of my life and just couldn't imagine something like this. I wouldn't survive it.
I was surprised to see the ending was so confusing. That line he delivered answered it, he was 100% sane/lucid and chose to be lobotomized rather than live with the constant regret and pain everyday.
I remember seeing this in the theater after work when traffic was bad. I use to always just stop in the theater and catch a discounted matinee if traffic was bad. I'd rather watch a movie then sit for an hour in traffic. Anyway, I seen the 4pm showing and had the theater to myself. When it was over, I just sat there for another 20 minutes just trying to process what the hell happened the last 2 hours. What a movie. Very few have I got so submerged into a plot as I did with this one. Like you, I love detective movies and was really lost trying to follow his storyline. The ending hit me like a brick wall.
This movie reminds me of the movie Memento from 2000. Once u know the ending, and u go watch it again, u see all the subtle clues, and u get your mind blown again. Also, Leos's performance in this movie is absolutely amazing, so much emotion.
At the end, he's sane. But he pretends to still be insane, so that they'll lobotomize him. Because he still doesn't want to live with the reality. You asked about the warden (Ted Levine). You previously saw him as Buffalo Bill. If you'd like to see him as a positive character, try the TV series "Monk" where he plays Monk's supervisor.
definitely recommend a rewatch, you start to notice things, even things as simple as the exchange with the guards at the very beginning, its like a completely different conversation and it makes so much sense
I love watching films like this. I make an effort to not ask myself questions so I can be as surprised as the characters themselves when the reveal happens. I also like - hate myself a little bit if I'm honest, if I guess things before they happen, like I spoil the surprises for myself lol So I quite literally try to have no internal dialogue when watching movies lol!
This was a great movie! Another great Decaprio flick. Your video is perfectly edited so it shows all the most important parts, and the most emotional parts. One of the many reasons I am a subscriber and supporter of yours. Keep it up!
So much appreciation for the way you change your title screen to match the movie you're reacting to. I think it took me awhile to even notice but now every time I see it, I'm so impressed by that attention to detail.
The novel that this is based on is written by Dennis Lehane, who is an outstanding author. Other movies that have been made from his books include Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Live By Night. All great movies. Though Gone Baby Gone is terrific. Michelle Williams is such a good actress. Emily Mortimer (fake Rachel) is a great actress, too. I *HIGHLY* recommend Lars and the Real Girl. Such a sweet, sad movie.
He was sane at the end. He didn’t want to live like that anymore, so he pretended to have fallen back into his insanity in order for the doctors to lobotomize him.
Go back to the scene (9:45) where the woman he's interviewing asks for water. She pretends to drink the water, but she has no cup, and her hand is empty. Then she puts down a glass. A clue as to what's going on.
From a metaphysical and esoteric view of this film there is always an element of truth regarding the play of perceived reality compared against opposites! For the "perceiver" life exists as it is thought to play out. To control one, two or even three levels of dreams for the purposes of maintaining a
One of my favorite movies, like others have said I wish I could watch it again for the first time. Watching it a 2nd time it all lines up. The part that makes you wonder at the end is if he regressed, or did he purposely say it so he could end it all
In the end, Andrew knew he was a killer and lost his family to madness. He chooses to the lobotomy as punishment for not saving his family. A true masterclass in acting. 👌
Remember that scene, at the gates of Ashcliffe? Laeddis and Sheehan are ordered to relinquish their "firearms." Sheehan struggles to undo his holster, while Laeddis (being a marshal) does it with no problem. If you rewatch this movie, try to look at Leo's face when this happens. For a brief moment, he seems lucid, like he knows he is out of place and the something is wrong. Great acting from DiCaprio. Also, in almost all prisons and mental hospitals, prisoners and mental patients are banned from carrying matches, so that's why Laeddis has to keep asking for a light and never seems to have matches on him.
Did you notice that he didn't respond to the fictional name of Teddy at the end? He did accept reality and knew who he was and what he did, he knew that the Lobotomy tool was in that cloth and willingly took the surgery because it could remove those harsh memories...
Definitely a movie that you have to see a couple times to really appreciate how good it is. I love how it feels like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari meets Shock Corridor, which, knowing Scorsese, that was deliberate. The soundtrack is particularly superb. I especially love the use of Mahler’s Quartet for Piano and Strings in A minor. Most people complain that the ending is a little too easy to predict. It is, but it’s still a highly effective ending, and the journey to get there makes it all worthwhile.
I went into the cinema back in school days, probably 14 years old or so, with some friends to see this. had no idea whatsoever what this was all about but we all knew and loved DiCaprio from other movies and thrillers were right up our alley as well. We did not see the twist coming at all and discussed for hours, days, weeks later after this movie. Even without that curveball, it would still be an excellent movie.
Dennis Lehane (the author of the novel this film is based on) said, quite rightly, that Teddy/Andrew is not suicidal; he could easily have killed himself after killing his wife, but he didn't... therefore his "pretending" to regress at the end of the film to get himself lobotomized doesn't make sense. But because the film's ending makes you question if that is indeed what Teddy/Andrew is doing, Dennis Lehane was fine with it because it was ambiguous. Great reaction to an amazing film! The novel this film is based on is better, in my opinion... well worth a read! I love your channel! :)
This is a very underated movie, i actually read the book before watching the film so i knew the twist. If you love Leo i would highly recommend watching The Departed which is directed by Martin Scorsese, imo its Leo's best acting performance & there is a stellar supporting cast 👍🏻
For sure, he's great in The Departed, too. I did the same with the book of Shutter Island, and I've read a lot of Dennis Lehane's novels in addition to that one. I would like to recommend the film which was my favorite Lehane adaptation, Gone Baby Gone. I had really wanted a series of movies, at least going back to the first couple of books with those characters.
@@cinemaniac78 Yes i've read a number of Lehane books too, Mystic River was an ok film but a fantastic book, also his crime trilogy that has been turned into a screenplay is great as well, i forget the 1st book but i read that about 10 years ago and at the time it would have been the biggest book i'd read
@@larsson02sco Thanks for mentioning that about the novel Mystic River, as it reminds me that I still need to read that one. I quite liked the film, but not having read the book I may have a different perspective. Is the trilogy you are talking about the one with The Given Day, Live by Night, and World Gone By? I have read those, but I haven't seen the Live by Night film yet. I would say my favorites of his books are from the Kenzie/Gennaro series, there are six books but I especially like the first, second, and fourth in the series--A Drink Before the War; Darkness, Take My Hand; and the aforementioned Gone, Baby, Gone.
@@cinemaniac78 Yes "The Given Day" i remember reading the sypnosis & thinking at about 900 pages with the source material being something i'd never read about before that i would struggle, but it was quite the opposite, i soared through it, must re-read the given day soon!
So many people said this movie didn't feel personal to andrew, but i find that it really shows you how messed up he is, the dreams are beautiful and so haunting.
If you really want to mix things up with the channel, watch Shutter Island a 2nd time and film yourself trying to pick up on all that you may have missed now that you know the ending. You'd be amazed at how different the experience is! 📽🤯🤪😲
He was cured in the end that's why he said ''which would be worse, to live as a monster or die as good man''. He didn't wanna live as a murderer so he chose lobotomy. Excellent movie.
"i know him from somewhere, im scared of him" lololol perfect. The Warden was Wild Bill (buffalo bill) from Silence of the Lambs. and trust me, when it comes to movies, you see what you want to see. Ive seen thousands and thousands of movies (which is why i like watching you guys on youtube react to my favorites), and I still dont see shit coming (and i def didnt see this movies ending coming).
Thank you for reacting to one of my all-time personal favourite psychological horror drama films which is a rarity of Martin Scorsese to direct given his high profile for Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino and recently Killers of the Flower Moon. It took me 3 times to watch the film to see the signs that Teddy Daniels/Andrew Laeddis (cool fictional character names) is not who we thought he is. At the end of the film, his last words “What could be much worse in this place: live as a monster or die as a good man” is an indicator that Laeddis opted out for the “lighthouse icepick” due to the fact he got to the point of no longer handling the trauma of killing his wife for killing his kids and not wanting to regress restarting the entire cutting-edge roleplay all over again. As much as I know that it was all a roleplay: I loved the scene of Dr Rachel Solando in the cave, got a feeling it’s real (yet Dr Cawley brushed it off as fake hallucinations in Laeddis’ mind) as I could see this play a role in the plot of a continuation miniseries that I call “Escape From Shutter Island”. No matter if he was thinking of something in the past that’s true or not - the US army liberation of Dachau (among the early Nazi campsites to appear in the Holocaust) resulted in the soldiers and surviving Holocaust prisoners participated in a revenge killing (execution squad-esque) on the camp guards except those who faced the music in the criminal courts. It did happen in our world. An investigation conducted by US army Lieutenant-colonel Joseph Whittaker was suppressed by US army general George Patton and a Bavaria governor to cover up what Laeddis described as “not warfare but murder [on both sides]”. I do believe Laeddis’ involvement in the Dachau liberation and revenge killings was true.
Omg, I just saw this appear my feed. I love all your reactions and surprised I hadn't seen this particular reaction. Almost as surprised that you actually watched this!
The end credits song fucking kills me. What a genius mashup. Max Richter “On the Nature of Daylight”, with the vocals of Dinah Washington “This Bitter Earth”
As others have said, watching this a second time is like watching a different movie. Being in on the twist makes you notice SO many new things and mannerisms. It's a bit like when you watch Sixth Sense a second time.
Hey cass don't apologize for not talking enough. The best part of your reaction is seeing your facial expressions and hearing and seeing emotional changes and comparing them to my own. Great editing by the way
You recognise the Warden from Silence of the Lambs, he played Buffalo Bill. Also Dr Cawley was played by Ben Kingsley, who played Itzhak Stern in Schindler's List.
The fact that I didn't know which was real or not was a testament to the writing but also the way it was shot. The framing and the angles chosen by Scorsese gave the movie a creepy vibe. You can do story-telling without any dialogue simply by framing and lighting and close-ups and wide shots..
Fun fact...Shutter Island was filmed in Central Massachusetts, in an actual old mental facility. The New Mutants was filmed at the same location years later
Don’t worry at all about not talking as much during the movies. Your emotional reactions, facial expressions, sounds you make are all part of what folks enjoy to the movies people see. Talking a lot in movies and possibly over important moments in the film does not = a good reaction all the time. Thanks for reacting to this great, twisted movie haha! Happy Holidays
So we need to get Cassy to watch The Thin Red Line. It's one of the most "beautiful" war movies there is and I think she would like it. Looking forward to this premiere.
It's a brilliant film and indeed one of the best war movies ever made, but I'm not sure she's ready for it yet. It was my introduction to Terence Malik in my early twenties and although I didn't hate it initially, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it either. It wasn't until I saw some more of his movies (examples of his particular kind of cinema) that I started to actually "get" his art and then was able to go back and more fully appreciate THIN RED LINE more. I'd recommend she start with his earlier efforts (like BADLANDS and DAYS OF HEAVEN) when Malick seemed like he still felt he still had to have a more conventional narrative backbone to the piece.
@@StickFigureStudios Yeah, as much as I love Malick, he’s definitely not for everyone. Your recommendation for Badlands or Days of Heaven (such a gorgeous film!) are right on point. Maybe, in a year or two we can get her up to Thin Red Line or Tree of Life, which I think she might enjoy.
As a father, the scene where he finds his children in the lake and his screams of pain...destroy me everytime. Only time I've ever come that close to that much pain was helping put my kids in my ex wifes Van and saying good bye as they drove 1200 miles away leaving me alone :(
Look for people drinking from invisible cups. His aversion to water is very prominent if you really look. He becomes more bold the more lucid he becomes.
Ted Levine is the actor playing the guard in the jeep ... he also plays Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs ... maybe that's why he is a little bit scary ;) ... Ted Levine is a great actor :)
You might not catch it on the first viewing, but when Leo and Mark first get to the island and have to surrender their firearms, Leo removes his quickly and effortlessly, but Mark has a hard time removing it, implying he's not a real cop.
Hey Cassie: My wife and I watched this for the first time on New Years Day 2022. So watching this "First Time" with you was actually my second time seeing it. Yes, I hope you went back and watched it again, because then you see all the clues to the real story. I enjoy your work. Nice job.
I remember reading the book, many years before the movie started production, and even back then, I wanted to see Leonardo DiCaprio playing Teddy Daniels.
2:51 early clue, he’s fumbling with his gun and holster because he’s not really a detective, hence the guard looks annoyed at him because he’s not playing his part properly
Personally I like being outsmarted by filmmakers. Everything they put up on screen is designed for for the viewer to take that right. And I do not like spoilers in movies or books. I don’t even read the forward in books. I love the fact that I’m still learning things about the shining 2001 space odyssey. That was awesome thanks
The officer that picked him up in a jeep and you said that you know him from somewhere & that you were scared of him @ 24:11 was Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs, lol.
