History Film / ShutterIsland

* HerrDoctor: Played with. Dr. Naehring is undeniably German (although [[FakeNationality played by a legendary Swede]]), but his accent is much lighter than required by the trope.

* GuiltComplex: Teddy is full of guilt for his actions in Dachau and the death of his wife even though it was not his fault. [[spoiler:It's because 'Teddy' is a mask for Andrew feeling a LaserGuidedKarma for ignoring Dolores obvious insanity which led to her killing her children and Andrew giving Dolores a MercyKill.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: While Teddy understandably feels guilt for participating in the execution of multiple Nazi prisoners of war, it's hard to feel any sympathy for them considering what they did as concentration camp guards.

* MenAreTheExpendableGender: [[spoiler:Although Teddy/Andrew's three children died, emphasis is placed on the death of the only daughter. He has dreams about her and it's her body he cradles in the scene. She appears to be the youngest too.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: While Teddy understandably feels guilt for participating in the execution of multiple Nazi prisoners of war, it's hard to feel any sympathy for them considering what they did.

** Both [[spoiler:reveal that the "detective" is investigating a crime that he himself committed, while he blames it on an elusive (fictional) scapegoat;
** Both [[spoiler:reveal that people in the protagonist's life regularly take advantage of him due to his disability]];
** Both reveal the protagonist's confidant [[spoiler:is closer to his "minder", staying close to him to keep him out of trouble]].

* {{Homage}}: The film is absolutely crawling with them, in particular Creator/AlfredHitchcock and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Chuck is often baffled by Cawley's rhetoric and approach. But it's all a facade. Not only is he really a psychiatrist himself, he and Cawley have worked together closely for years and created the whole scheme Teddy has been drawn into.]]

** Another from Mrs. Kearns. When Chuck gives her a glass of water, you see her making movements of drinking but there's no glass in her hand. And in the next shot, there's a glass on the table. [[spoiler: Another bit of foreshadowing that Teddy is hallucinating]].
** The real Rachel is barefoot when Teddy runs into her in the cave, but she's inexplicably wearing shoes the next morning. [[spoiler: As "Rachel" escaped without any shoes, this foreshadows that Teddy hallucinates this entire meeting]].

* USMarshal: Two U.S. Marshals, Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, travel to Shutter Island, as part of an investigation into the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando. [[spoiler: It's later revealed they aren't real Marshals and this is all just a part of Teddy's delusion, as Chuck is a doctor pretending to be a Marshal and "Teddy" is his patient.]]

* USMarshal: Two U.S. Marshals, Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, travel Shutter Island, as part of an investigation into the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando.

* EpiphanyTherapy: Subverted. [[spoiler:As of the film's ending, Dr. Cawley has gotten Teddy/Andrew to snap out of his madness twice, but neither time stuck. The ending somewhat suggests that Andrew is really cured, but is so guilt-ridden about what he had done that he pretends to have regressed back to the Teddy Daniels fantasy so they will lobotomize him, and his last line in particular implies that he knows.]]

* AmbiguousEnding: "Teddy" seems to have had a breakthrough in which he has finally admitted that he is really Andrew Laeddis and that he killed his wife after she killed their children. He then seems to have had a relapse in the last scene Andrew is calling Dr. Sheehan "Chuck" again as if he still believes that they are both U.S. Marshals there to investigate a case. However, Andrew's last line--"Which would be worse--to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?"--implies that Andrew ''does'' still realize that he is Andrew, and that he is only faking a relapse, so that he can be lobotomized and forget what happened forever.

* {{Homage}}: The film is absolutely crawling with them, in particular Creator/AlfredHitchcock/Vertigo.

%%* JumpScare: Quite a few in the movie.

%%* ManlyTears: Teddy sheds these a lot, both in the present and the flashbacks to his past.

* RewatchBonus: ''Many'' conversations, character reactions and moments in general that might seem a bit unusual become a lot clearer upon rewatching [[spoiler: knowing the whole thing was an act designed to reach Teddy and everyone was in on it and that Chuck is actually his psychiatrist Lester Sheehan.]]

** Several members of the hospital staff are actually seen [[spoiler:completely breaking character in-universe in front of Teddy, yet the place already feels so weird that one doesn't pay attention]] to these small details at first. This includes, but is not limited to:

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Many details hint TheReveal that [[spoiler:Teddy Daniels is actually a delusional patient,, and that his partner Chuck is just playing along with Teddy's delusions]].

* PastExperienceNightmare: Teddy has several dreams hinting at his DarkAndTroubledPast. [[spoiler:Mostly involving his daughter telling him he should have saved their family.]]

* RevealingContinuityLapse: There are many of these, but most notably when interviewing patients one asks Agent Chuck for a glass of water, and in subsequent cuts the glass is there when Chuck is in frame but doesn't exist when he is not, [[spoiler:showing Chuck isn't actually Chuck]].

* ShellShockedVeteran: Teddy served in Europe during World War II and took part in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. The whole experience, especially the horrors he witnessed in Dachau took quite their toll on his psyche and drove him to become TheAlcoholic for a while after he returned from service. [[spoiler:What exactly happened during the liberation of Dachau are put a bit into question after TheReveal that Teddy is actually Andrew, but it is clear that whatever it was, it undeniably made quite the impression on Andrew, seeing how horrifying Nazi experiments form a central part of his delusion.]]

* YouAreWhatYouHate: Teddy Daniels doesn't sympathize for the patients because in most cases they've committed murder. [[spoiler:In reality, he killed his wife and confesses he is a monster who would rather die a good man in the final scene.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Many details hint TheReveal that [[spoiler:Teddy Daniels is actually a delusional patient]].

** Also, what George Noyce tells him: [[spoiler:"You can't dig up the truth ''and'' kill Laeddis, [[TomatoInTheMirror you just can't]]."]]
** Also, when Teddy finds Noyce with a large scar on his face and asks who did it to him. Noyce responds, "[[spoiler:You did]]."
** Listen ''very'' closely when Teddy lights a match while talking to George Noyce, and you can hear [[spoiler:a child's scream]].

** Also [[spoiler:how Andrew (then believing himself to be Teddy) utilized matches to see in Ward C, having told Sheehan (as Chuck) that Laeddis was a fire bug. Granted, he ''had'' to use something to see in the nearly-pitch-black ward, but it's heavily inferrable based on how much attention the movie pays to Andrew lighting each match.]]
** In addition, [[spoiler:Teddy told his partner that his wife was killed by smoke from a fire. A constant habit of his is smoking]].
** The constant mention of fire is alluding to Teddy’s wife who burned their apartment down as mentioned in the book
** Or it could be a sign of [[spoiler:Teddy's delusions. One of the realities he so desperately wants to avoid is that his wife ''drowned'' their three children. Water is the opposite of fire in the same way that reality is the opposite of delusion. Each scene where fire shows up, "Teddy" is actively having delusions. When water shows up, he is more actively being forced to confront reality.]]
** [[spoiler:"Smoke from a fire" could have also been referring to the smoke from his gun, which is how he killed his wife, and as shown when he hallucinates shooting it.]]
** [[spoiler:Chuck has a hard time taking off his gun when they first enter the facility. Any lawman would be able to take it off as quickly as Teddy.]]
** Shortly after arriving on the island, Teddy decides to quit the investigation early on due to Cawley refusing to meet his requests, threatening to file a report of the investigation, [[spoiler:but at this point he stammers, because he's not quite certain who it is he reports to, since he only ''was'' a marshal. Chuck has to finish the sentence for him, and since he knows about FBI, he goes for "[[DoubleEntendre Hoover's boys]]".]]

** Several members of the hospital staff are actually seen [[spoiler:completely breaking character in-universe, in front of Teddy, yet the place already feels so weird that one doesn't pay attention]]. This includes, but is not limited to:

*** [[spoiler:When Teddy is interviewing the staff and forces one of them to admit he breached protocol to use the restroom, Chuck can be seen in the background glancing and nodding at one of orderlies, nonverbally assuring him that Teddy is stable.]]

** When Teddy [[spoiler:explodes the car]], he again sees his wife and the girl. [[spoiler:Both aren't touched by the fire at all, foreshadowing how it wasn't fire that had hurt them.]]
** When Dr. Cawley is first introduced, pay attention to how he speaks about how the mentally ill used to be treated. Before he says "drowned", he quickly glances at Teddy and slightly changes his tone. While this further underscores Dr. Cawley's distaste for what passed as mental health care in the past, it's also [[spoiler:his way of testing Andrew. Dr. Cawley knows that Andrew's children were drowned, and thus even the mention of drowning might be enough to trigger him]].

* ByTheBookCop: Subverted. Teddy Daniels is on Shutter Island not only for a missing person's case, but to find Andrew Laeddis, the man responsible for Daniels's wife's death.

* CompositeCharacter: Done in-universe example with [[spoiler:Teddy's imaginary Andrew Laeddis. He takes his name and slaying of Dolores from the man Teddy actually is, while his arson is taken from Dolores.]]
* TheConspiracy: Teddy believes there is one in Shutter Island's Ashecliffe Hospital starting with the disappearance of Rachel Solando and going further down to them involving Nazi experiments of the human mind. [[spoiler:Subverted, this is only a fake reality Andrew Laeddis has made up for himself and that his doctors are trying to prove isn't real.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Teddy Daniels is very determined to find answers on Shutter Island. [[spoiler:This trope is actually Deconstructed because it's actually Andrew Laeddis refusing to accept reality.]]

* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler:Subverted. They're actually trying to ''cure'' his madness. Played straight in that what happened to his wife and children really did make him crack before the start of the story.]]
* DrPsychPatient: [[spoiler:Inverted, in that it's the ''protagonist'' who turns out to be a delusional patient, not the people he meets at the asylum.]]

* EpiphanyTherapy: Subverted. [[spoiler:As of the end of the film, Dr. Cawley has gotten Teddy/Andrew to snap out of his madness twice. Neither time stuck. The movie ending somewhat suggests that Andrew is really cured, but is so guilt ridden about what he had done that he pretends to have regressed back to the Teddy Daniels fantasy so they will lobotomize him, and his last line in particular implies that he knows.]]

** 'If I sink my teeth into your eye right now do you think you can stop me before I blind you?'

* FailureToSaveMurder: [[spoiler:Andrew feels he let his children die because he didn't get help for his wife earlier, and as a result has nightmares of his daughter telling him he should have saved all of them.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}:

* ShownTheirWork: The massacre of surrendering Nazi Soldiers by Americans at the Liberation of Dachau actually did happen. The incident was covered up by the military and it wasn't admitted officially until the 90s. Additionally, the last official commandant of Dachau (SS-Obersturmbannführer Martin Weiß) fled, but not before putting SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Wicker in charge. It was Wicker who surrendered to the Allied forces, and historians assume he was summarily executed.

* ShownTheirWork: The massacre of surrendering Nazi Soldiers by Americans at the Liberation of Dachau actually did happen. The incident was covered up by the military and it wasn't admitted officially till the 90s.

** The BungledSuicide of the commandant at Dachu is shown only through fluttering papers in his office and a shot of him lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood afterwards, too distant to show much detail.

* AdultFear: [[spoiler:Your wife drowning your kids would certainly count. And your guilty conscience takes the form of your daughter...]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: Most assuredly not always present, but still packs a wallop at [[spoiler:the ending, with the "peaceful" shot of the lighthouse. The previous scene makes clear what will happen to Laeddis there.]]

* JumpScare: Quite a few in the movie.

* MadDoctor: Averted with Dr. Cawley. In Teddy's world of delusions, Cawley and the rest of the asylum psychiatrists are amoral, evil doctors conducting psychological experiments on the patients in service of the OSS and military. In reality, Cawley is a humane doctor who is doing everything he can to treat Teddy and prevent him from being lobotomized.
* ManlyTears: Teddy sheds these a lot, both in the present and the flashbacks to his past.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: [[spoiler:Although Teddy/Andrew's three children died, emphasis is placed on the death of the only daughter. He has dreams about her and it's her body he cradles in the scene. She appears to be the youngest too, merging this with YoungestChildWins.]]
* {{Mockspiracy}}: [[spoiler:US Marshall Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from the remote mental clinic, Ashecliffe Hospital. As the investigation continues, he finds that the hospital staff are hiding something from him, and suspects that the head doctor is conducting horrible experiments on unwilling patients. In reality, "Teddy Daniels" is actually Andrew Laeddis, a patient at that same hospital. The only experiment happening is the doctors indulging Laeddis's delusions of investigating a conspiracy, in hopes that Laeddis would realize the truth and be cured after his fantasy played out to the end.]]

* PostHistoricalTrauma: The film actually deconstructs FilmNoir of TheFifties by dealing with the subtext of post-war trauma and wider social tragedy that came out of WWII. Andrew/Teddy was a soldier in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp and participated in a real life massacre of surrendering Nazi soldiers, a crime that, TruthInTelevision, was suppressed by the Allied Authorities until being de-classified decades later.

* ShirtlessScene: Teddy and Chuck after they get caught out in the rain and have to change into patients' gear.

* ShownTheirWork: The massacre of surrendering Nazi Soldiers by Americans at the Liberation of Dachau? It actually did happen. The incident was covered up by the military and it wasn't admitted officially till the 90s.

* SurrealHorror: Most of Teddy's dreams.
* TerrifyingPetStoreRat: A whole swarm of rats on the cliffside, which seem curious but not at all hostile.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[spoiler:Completely, utterly inverted. The whole island is orchestrating a therapy session to play along with the main character's delusions to see if he can resolve his own internal conflicts without help. They are trying to simulate a ThereAreNoTherapists scenario.]]

* TwistEnding: A truly nasty one, too. [[spoiler:Teddy is a patient at Shutter Island. Rachel's backstory is partially ''his'' -- after his wife drowned their three children, and he shot her in response.]]

* VerbalBusinessCard: "My name is '''EDWARD DANIELS!!'''"(twice). Later: [[spoiler:"My name is Andrew Laeddis, and I murdered my wife in the spring of 'fifty-two."]]

* WeaponStomp: Done very nastily. The Nazi reaching for the gun had blown his cheek off in a suicide attempt and was lying on the floor bleeding out. He reached for his dropped gun to try again, only to have the protagonist step on it and drag it away.)

* YoungestChildWins: [[spoiler:The girl that Teddy keeps seeing visions of is his youngest daughter. He doesn't see much of the older sons in his dreams.]]

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Teddy and the other soldiers execute a group of surrendering Nazis by firing squad when they see what they've done -- which is based on a real incident.

* AndYouWereThere: It's revealed towards the end that [[spoiler: the 'Rachel Solando' Teddy was looking for (played by Emily Mortimer) is another nurse at the hospital]].

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[spoiler: Cawley is able to break 'Teddy' by asking if the little girl who haunts him, Andrew's daughter Rachel, is not real.]]

** Andrew's wife crosses into this territory after [[spoiler: she drowns her children.]]

* BigNo: Teddy gets a pretty good one.

* CompositeCharacter: Done in-universe example with [[spoiler: Teddy's imaginary Andrew Laeddis. He takes his name and slaying of Dolores from the man Teddy actually is, while his arson is taken from Dolores.]]

* CuttingBackToReality: In the finale, Teddy manages to get his hands on the firearm that was confiscated from him at the start of the film and hold Dr. Cawley and Dr. Sheehan at gunpoint. Cawley makes it clear that shooting them is the only way Teddy is going to get off the island, so Teddy shoots him four times in the chest, splattering the board behind him in blood, then turns the gun in Sheehan's direction... and then we cut back to Cawley, who is completely unharmed. [[spoiler: The gun is a toy and always has been: Teddy is actually a patient at the hospital - specifically the mysterious Andrew Laeddis that "Teddy" has been pursuing - and wouldn't be trusted with a real firearm even in the roleplay scenario that's been established for him.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Teddy Daniels is very determined to find answers on Shutter Island. [[spoiler: This trope is actually Deconstructed because it's actually Andrew Laeddis refusing to accept reality.]]

* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler:Subverted. They're actually trying to ''cure'' his madness. Played straight in that what happened to his wife and children really did make him crack before the start of the story]].
* DrPsychPatient: [[spoiler: Inverted, in that it's the ''protagonist'' who turns out to be a delusional patient, not the people he meets at the asylum.]]

** The description of a lobotomy, which [[spoiler: is very strongly implied to be the lead character's fate.]] A real lobotomy doesn't actually damage the eye''ball'', as this is gently pushed sideways to clear a path to the orbital fissures at the rear of the eye-socket. Still extremely creepy.

* FireWaterJuxtaposition: As symbolism for the juxtaposition between delusion and reality. [[spoiler: While Teddy is having delusions about who Andrew Laeddis is and how his wife died]], fire is a prevalent theme. But reality, [[spoiler: which is that his wife drowned their three children]], becomes more apparent when you consider Teddy's discomfort with water.

** The warden says to Teddy: [[spoiler: "You're as violent as they come."]]
** Also, what George Noyce tells him: [[spoiler: "You can't dig up the truth ''and'' kill Laeddis, [[TomatoInTheMirror you just can't."]]]]
** Also, when Teddy finds Noyce with a large scar on his face and asks who did it to him. Noyce responds, "[[spoiler: you did.]]"
** Listen ''very'' closely when Teddy lights a match while talking to George Noyce, and you can hear [[spoiler: a child's scream.]]
** While talking with Noyce, the camera repeatedly frames Teddy [[spoiler: through ''the prison bars''.]]
** Also [[spoiler: how Andrew (then believing himself to be Teddy) utilized matches to see in Ward C, having told Sheehan (as Chuck) that Laeddis was a fire bug. This is arguable, as obviously he had to use something to see in the nearly-pitch-black ward, but it's heavily inferrable based on how much attention the movie pays to Andrew lighting each match.]]
** In addition, [[spoiler: Teddy told his partner that his wife was killed by smoke from a fire. A constant habit of his is smoking. Another arguable point, as it is the fifties, and smoking was encouraged at the time.]]

** Or it could be a sign of [[spoiler: Teddy's delusions. One of the realities he so desperately wants to avoid is that his wife ''drowned'' their three children. Water is the opposite of fire in the same way that reality is the opposite of delusion. Each scene where fire shows up, "Teddy" is actively having delusions. When water shows up, he is more actively being forced to confront reality.]]
** [[spoiler: "Smoke from a fire" could have also been referring to the smoke from his gun, which is how he killed his wife, and as shown when he hallucinates shooting it. Some films from that time period have similar lines]]

** Teddy is quick to notice the facility has an electrified fence, and seems to instantly work out that Peter Breen can't handle the sound of a pencil scratching on paper. [[spoiler:It's not just Teddy working these things out. It's Teddy remembering these things due to spending two years at Shutter Island]].
** Several members of the hospital staff are actually seen [[spoiler: completely breaking character in-universe, in front of Teddy, yet the place already feels so weird that one doesn't pay attention. This includes, but is not limited to]]:

*** [[spoiler: When Teddy is interviewing the staff and forces one of them to admit he breached protocol to use the restroom, Chuck can be seen in the background glancing and nodding at one of orderlies, nonverbally assuring him that Teddy is stable.]]
*** [[spoiler: When they enter Ward C, a guard just tells them it's a scary place, then inexplicably runs away instead of helping them.]]
** [[spoiler: The Rachel played by Emily Mortimer briefly thinks Teddy is her husband.]]
** When Teddy [[spoiler: explodes the car]], he again sees his wife and the girl. [[spoiler: Both aren't touched by the fire at all, foreshadowing how it wasn't fire that had hurt them.]]
** When Dr. Cawley is first introduced, pay attention to how he speaks about how the mentally ill used to be treated. Before he says "drowned", he quickly glances at Teddy and slightly changes his tone. While this further underscores Dr. Cawley's distaste for what passed as mental health care in the past, it's also [[spoiler: his way of testing Andrew. Dr. Cawley knows that Andrew's children were drowned, and thus even the mention of drowning might be enough to trigger him.]]

* GuiltComplex: Teddy is full of guilt for his actions in Dachau and the death of his wife even though it was not his fault. [[spoiler: It's because 'Teddy' is a mask for Andrew feeling a LaserGuidedKarma for ignoring Dolores obvious insanity which led to her killing her children and Andrew giving Dolores a MercyKill.]]

* HeadacheOfDoom: Teddy Daniels suffers a mild headache not long after arriving at Ashecliff, apparently caused by dehydration from sea-sickness. However, the second day on the island ends with Daniels suffering a migraine so powerful that it causes him to collapse, and he has to be helped into bed. According to [[spoiler: "Rachael Solando"]], this has actually been caused by the hospital staff drugging him in the hopes of faking a descent into madness and imprisoning him as a patient. [[spoiler: The truth is much stranger: Daniels is actually Andrew Laeddis, a delusional patient at the hospital, and his headaches are withdrawal symptoms - the result of him being taken off antipsychotic medication.]]

* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: [[spoiler: Nearly the entire film is one, on the part of Dr Cawley. He fails. Or does he?]]

* InsanityEstablishmentScene: When the Nazi experimenter writes [[spoiler: Andrew Laeddis on the board, revealing that Teddy and Andrew are the same person]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: While Teddy understandably feels guilt for [[spoiler:participating in the execution of multiple Nazi prisoners of war]], it's hard to feel any sympathy for them considering what they did.

* {{Lobotomy}}: During the course of US Marshall Teddy Daniels's investigation into the titular mental institution, the procedure is mentioned as one method used to "cure" violent inmates that have proven otherwise unable to be helped. After a few {{Plot Twist}}s and meetings with [[spoiler: Andrew Laeddis]] and [[spoiler:Rachel]] it is held as a threat against Daniels in his attempts to escape the island. Finally, after TheReveal, [[spoiler:The whole plot is revealed as an elaborate set-up to give Daniels, who is actually Laeddis committed to the asylum after killing his wife because she murdered their children in her own insanity, one last chance to cure himself. He experiences MyGodWhatHaveIDone and chooses to maintain the fantasy, knowing that it will mean death or worse, and undergo the procedure.]]

** [[spoiler: Dolores has an infinitesimal flash of sanity after murdering her children where she begs Andrew to [[MercyKill set her free.]]]]
** Arguably Laeddis in his final scene. [[spoiler: His statement about rather dying a good man than living a monster may be due to a lucid moment in the face of regression back to his delusional state (or, alternatively, he never regressed at all and just maintained the facade of his delusion after the reveal in order to have the lobotomy performed to put an end to his painful memories).]]

* MovingBeyondBereavement: Teddy Daniels is in mourning for his wife, killed by a crazed arsonist by the name of Andrew Laeddis some years ago; he also experiences vivid dreams of his wife that escalate to full-blown hallucinations as the stress of his investigation at Ashecliff piles on. It's actually remarked several times that Teddy has to "let her go," both by real characters and by his visions, but he doesn't listen until the finale reveals why: [[spoiler: Teddy Daniels and Andrew Laeddis are actually the same person, his wife was killed immediately after she drowned Andrew's children in a lake, and he's spent the last two years at Ashecliff in a state of denial; everything in the film has been the doctors trying to break through Andrew's delusions and get him to accept reality.]] By the end of the film, it seems he's finally come to terms with what happened to his wife - [[spoiler: though Andrew isn't intending to move on, and it's implied that he's faking a relapse to force his doctors to lobotomize him.]]

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: [[spoiler:Teddy and the other soldiers execute a group of surrendering Nazis by firing squad when they see what they've done -- which is based on a real incident.]]

* PostHistoricalTrauma: The film actually deconstructs FilmNoir of TheFifties by dealing with the subtext of post-war trauma and wider social tragedy that came out of WWII. [[spoiler:Andrew/Teddy was a soldier in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp and participated in a real life massacre of surrendering Nazi soldiers, a crime that, TruthInTelevision, was suppressed by the Allied Authorities until being de-classified decades later.]]

* RevealingContinuityLapse: There are many of these, but most notably when interviewing patients one asks Agent Chuck for a glass of water, and in subsequent cuts the glass is there when Chuck is in frame but doesn't exist when he is not, [[spoiler:showing Chuck isn't actually Chuck.]]

* SignificantAnagram: [[spoiler: Four of them, hence the "Rule of Four." Edward Daniels/Andrew Laeddis, and Rachel Solando/Dolores Chanal.]]
* StrawNihilist: The Warden rants about his love of violence, and expresses his belief that there's no true morality, God simply put humans on the Earth to spread war and suffering. Although [[spoiler: considering that by the point in the movie where we first meet the warden was when Andrew was coming off the Chlorazapine and [[UnreliableNarrator obviously hallucinating]], we don't really know if that conversation actually happened or was [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness simply a part of Andrew's delusion]].]] Not to mention [[spoiler: he could just be venting his frustrations with the guy he's talking to, who is the most violent and dangerous patient he's ever had to deal with.]]

* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[spoiler: Completely, utterly inverted. The whole island is orchestrating a therapy session to play along with the main character's delusions to see if he can resolve his own internal conflicts without help. They are trying to simulate a ThereAreNoTherapists scenario.]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: Carried over from the novel. [[spoiler: Teddy spends the whole movie chasing after Andrew Laeddis, the man who killed his wife. Near the end it's revealed that he ''is'' Laeddis, and invented the Teddy Daniels persona so that he wouldn't have to deal with the guilt of shooting his wife after she drowned their children in a lake. He's been a patient at the hospital for the last two years.]]

* TwistEnding: A truly nasty one, too. [[spoiler: Teddy is a patient at Shutter Island. Rachel's backstory is partially ''his'' - after his wife drowned their three children, and he shot her in response]].

* WeaponStomp: Done very nastily. [[spoiler:The Nazi reaching for the gun had blown his cheek off in a suicide attempt and was lying on the floor bleeding out. He reached for his dropped gun to try again, only to have the protagonist step on it and drag it away.)]]

** [[spoiler: "You don't have a partner, Daniels. You came alone."]]
** [[spoiler: "Your name is Andrew Laeddis. The sixty-seventh patient at Ashecliffe? He's you, Andrew."]]
** [[spoiler: "Your children, Andrew, your children!"]]
** [[spoiler: "Honey?... Where are the kids?" "They're at school." "...It's Saturday. School's not open on Saturday." '''"My school is."''']]

%%* WindmillCrusader: [[spoiler: The main character]].

* YoungestChildWins:[[spoiler: The girl that Teddy keeps seeing visions of is his youngest daughter. He doesn't see much of the older sons in his dreams]].

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Teddy embodies the noir hero with a troubled background. [[spoiler: But we find out "Teddy" is a coping mechanism for Andrew who cannot hope to process his pain.]]

* ManlyTears: Teddy sheds these a lot, to the point of being TheWoobie.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: [[spoiler: Although Teddy/Andrew's three children died, emphasis is placed on the death of the only daughter. He has dreams about her and it's her body he cradles in the scene. She appears to be the youngest too, merging this with YoungestChildWins.]]

* MrImagination: [[spoiler: Teddy Daniels thinks he's in an investigation solving the case of a lost patient while seeking revenge against Andrew Laeddis for killing his wife. He actually ''is'' Andrew Laeddis and is a patient at Shutter Island.]]
* NightmareOfNormality: By the end, Teddy is certain that the doctors are trying to brainwash him into thinking that he's always been a mental patient and his life as a heroic US Marshal was a delusion. [[spoiler: And then it's completely inverted; he really ''is'' a mental patient and the doctors are trying to awaken him from his delusions.]]

* PapaWolf: [[spoiler: Laeddis kills his wife after she goes AxCrazy and murders their children.]]

* PostHistoricalTrauma: The film actually deconstructs FilmNoir of TheFifties by dealing with the subtext of post-war trauma and wider social tragedy that came out of WWII. [[spoiler: Andrew/Teddy was a soldier in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp and participated in a real life massacre of surrendering Nazi soldiers, a crime that, TruthInTelevision, was suppressed by the Allied Authorities until being de-classified decades later.]]
* PrefersTheIllusion: While it appears that the doctor's efforts at curing [[spoiler: the main character]] of his massive defensive delusions have ultimately failed, the final line may imply that it didn't fail. Instead, he deliberately maintained the act [[spoiler: in order to be lobotomized, and forget everything ''anyway.'']]

* MomentOfLucidity: [[spoiler: Dolores has an infintesimal flash of sanity after murdering her children where she begs Andrew to [[MercyKill set her free.]]]]
** Arguably "Teddy" in his final scene. His statement about rather dying a good man than living a monster may be due to a lucid moment in the face of regression back to his delusional state (or, alternatively, he never regressed at all and just maintained the facade of his delusion after the reveal in order to have the lobotomy performed to put an end to his painful memories).

* MrImagination: Teddy Daniels [[spoiler: thinks he's in an investigation solving the case of a lost patient while seeking revenge against Andrew Laeddis for killing his wife. He actually is Andrew Laeddis and is a patient at Shutter Island.]]

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Teddy violently does this to a patient in Ward C. [[spoiler:He also gave one to George Noyce because he called him Laeddis, and Dr. Cawley tells Andrew he's the most violent patient they have.]]

*** [[spoiler:When they enter Ward C, a guard just tells them it's a scary place, [[{{Corpsing}} then runs away laughing]].]]