It turns out that Andrew is actually an inmate at Ashecliffe, and that the film's events up until this point — Cawley's allowing Andrew to play the role of Teddy — were designed to cure his insanity that stemmed from murdering his depressed wife after she drowned their children at their lake house.
The Shutter Island ending reveals that Teddy Daniels is actually a patient at the psychiatric facility, not a real lawman investigating the disappearance of an inmate. The doctors at the facility create an intricate role-playing game to guide Teddy back to reality and confront the trauma of his past.
Months Before 'Inception,' 'Shutter Island' Delivered an Ambiguous Ending That Haunts 10 Years Later. The "Inception" ending dominated movie headlines in 2010, but "Shutter Island" opened months earlier and had a similar last moment that continues to perplex.
Was Andrew faking it at the end of Shutter Island?
In the end of "Shutter Island," it's revealed that the main character, Teddy Daniels, is actually Andrew Laeddis, a patient at the mental institution. He has been experiencing delusions and hallucinations, which were orchestrated by the staff to help him come to terms with the truth of his past.
Teddy wakes up in the hospital under the watch of Cawley, Sheehan, and the nurse who played Rachel Solando. Teddy tells them the truth they told him in a coherent manner, but they are terrified he will soon regress. And it is revealed they've done this to him before.
SHUTTER ISLAND Breakdown | Ending Explained, Easter Eggs, Hidden Details & Things You Missed
What is the climax of the Shutter Island?
Climax: Teddy/Andrew finally remembers that his wife burned their apartment and drowned their three children—and that he shot her. Climactic Moment: Teddy/Andrew speaks to “Chuck” in ambiguous terms that seem to indicate he has relapsed into his delusions—which leaves no other option for him than a lobotomy.
However, in a radical twist, we find that Teddy is himself a patient at the asylum. He suffers from Delusional Disorder, creating a false world to escape the dark reality of his past. Shutter Island is one of the many films that present the ethical considerations of psychological treatment to a mainstream audience.
Andrew's last line of dialogue, and his failure to respond to being called Teddy, has led many fans to speculate that Andrew had not actually regressed, and was voluntarily submitting himself to a lobotomy so he did not have to live with his sins and the monster he had become.
Inspired by the history of the Boston Harbor Islands, Bostonian Dennis Lehane published his book Shutter Island in 2003. In this thriller, Lehane created a fictitious hospital island with nefarious happenings.
Some believe that the Rachel Solando in the cave was real; others believe that she was a figment of Teddy's imagination. It is possible that he fabricated the Rachel Solando in the cave, because what she says was everything he wanted to hear, which gives him a reason to find everyone suspicious on Shutter Island.
Strong violence including disturbing violence as three children who were drowned are seen in the water; man's bloody face who tried to commit suicide by shooting himself; guards with guns; fighting and punching; blood on the ground; blood seen on several characters; man seen in pool of blood; blood seen on woman; a ...
To keep quiet for the sake of all those he could still save if the results of the roleplay are a success. "Shhh. Keep quiet. You can't run from what you've done, but that's okay."
[Spoiler Warning] In flashback we see a live Megumi being drugged and molested by Ben's sleazy friends while he takes photos. They kiss her face and then drag her off camera to rape her. She is also shown as a mummified, fly-covered corpse.
There is no Rachel Solando. There is no Chuck, at least as we see him. It's all a trick on the person we know as Teddy for the entirety of the story, right up until the end. Teddy, not the arsonist of his fantasy, was the one who killed his wife after she had drowned their three children.
He explains that Andrew Laeddis is an anagram of Edward Daniels and that he murdered his wife, Dolores Chanal (an anagram of Rachel Solando), two years before after she drowned their three children during a manic episode. This is the answer of the code "the law of 4" and Laeddis is the 67th patient at Ashecliffe.
Today lobotomy is rarely performed; however, shock therapy and psychosurgery (the surgical removal of specific regions of the brain) occasionally are used to treat patients whose symptoms have resisted all other treatments.
Dolores was bipolar, and she killed her children during a moment of mental crisis. Dolores had been living with bipolar for quite a while in Shutter Island, and it turns out that Andrew refused to seek help for his wife, instead deciding to ignore her struggles even when she burned down their apartment.
Why does Leonardo DiCaprio have a bandaid in Shutter Island?
It is unclear why he wears the band-aid, but it stays with him until nearly the end of the film. He only gets rid of it while taking a shower after John Cawley informs him that he actually showed up on the island alone.
What did George tell Teddy while they were in Ward C?
Teddy & Chuck get into building C. Teddy finds George Noyce, He tells Teddy that the only way he can save Noyce is to forget his wife and Laeddis. Noyce tells him that Laeddis is no longer in C building, but that they have taken him to the lighthouse, where they are planning to do a lobotomy on him.
What Mental Illness Did Teddy Daniels have in Shutter Island?
The psychiatrist debriefs Teddy about his Delusional Disorder. The psychiatrist tells Teddy that he has been a patient for over two years. He explains to Teddy that he created fictional characters by using anagrams from his name, and the names of his loved ones.
Parents need to know that Shutter Island is a very intense thriller, with some highly disturbing imagery, including drowned children, Nazi concentration camps, piles of corpses, blood, guns, dark prison corridors, and bizarre, scary nightmares and hallucinations.
What does the ending of Shutter Island mean on Reddit?
Can we talk about the ending of Shutter Island? So the movie makes it pretty clear that Teddy was crazy the entire time and that the whole movie was an experiment; a last effort to bring him back to sanity. All of the references point to him being crazy and it was a nice twist at the end of the movie.
Shutter Island is a film that shows so many evidences of hallucination experienced by the main character, Teddy Daniels. Teddy Daniels had bad experiences in the past which lead him to change his identity in order to forget his past.
