Shutter Island: The Ashecliffe Hospital

Shutter Island. The name itself would give anyone the impression of an isolated space with bars on the windows and no way of communicating with the outside. This idea of being trapped in a place was depicted using mostly the architecture of the high security mental asylum-prison as well as the cinematography in the scenes.

The Ashecliffe Hospital was set on an island, far away from other human contact, with the only connection to it being a ferry that makes only one trip a day. On the day the U.S Marshals were called upon to investigate the disappearance of a patient of the asylum, the weather was exceptionally dreadful and we were informed that ferry would not be coming back anytime soon because of the growing storm. That said, being on an

Upon setting foot on the island, Daniels and Aule, despite being law enforcement officers themselves, were escorted by Correctional Officers, wearing all black, to the asylum premises.

This was uncanny because hospitals, even the ones for mental patients, do not have COs, rather prisons do. The black uniform that they wore, portrayed the power and authority, which the officers’ had, fear, that the patients could have towards them, and aggression that they might have towards the patients.

Along their way, they came across the hospital cemetery, whose sign had a saying embossed on it, “Remember us, for we too have lived, loved and laughed.” It was very eerie to think of the patients so isolated and cut off from the rest of the world, living in a place guarded like a prison and then dying alone by themselves, beseeching the others to remember them. And this was just the beginning of the many unanswered mysteries that the movie holds for the viewers.

All the complexes of the asylum were encompassed within a long, rectangular wall. This was a sturdy structure, looking its part because of the rustic, red blocks that made it up. The

Concrete illustrates strength, which could be interpreted as being a strong edifice to keep the uncontrollable patients in.

The complexes of the hospital were designed following the Gothic architecture characteristics like the pointed arch, ribbed vault and the flying buttresses. This particular style can be scary with the appropriate surroundings and mood set. In Shutter Island, the weather was turning worse with time, with the howling wind and the restless sea and the dark clouds covering up every bit of the sun’s rays that might have penetrated through to help lighten up the mood. Amidst all this, the series of gothic architecture, inside the rectangular wall, seemed very imposing and unnerving and they drove up the anxiety the Marshals were already feeling.

The realm that they were in, with the giant, formidable red buildings, and their wing-like spires and sprawling lawns, thrust into their minds the growing feeling of unease. More so, because a lot of patients were working in the garden, some of them with chains on their feet, some with extremely red and puffy eyes and some with thinning hair and bald patches. All of them stared