Blog Post #4

Some specific challenges the director would have in adapting Shutter Island is the location. Since the setting of the book takes place on an island surrounded by 3 miles of water on each side it might be hard choosing a location. The island has an eerie feel to it so there would need to be high amounts of fog being produced throughout the movie. Since a lot of the characters are patients from a mental institution the casting of actors might be difficult. The people involved in the story have been through a lot so the actors playing them will have to show that when they speak. Since the beginning of the book was confusing to me, I think there should be a narrator explaining to the viewer’s what’s going on. If not I think some of the viewers will be confused as to what’s taking place.

                The half of the book that I’ve read so far I think at least four scenes should be kept in the book, but I’m only going to list three. The first scene in the book that I think the director should keep is in when Marshal Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule arrive to Ashecliffe Hospital. When they arrive on the boat they share background information about each other’s lives and how they ended up on the boat investigating the missing patient. This background information helps tie up all of the strings together at the end of the book. The next scene they need to keep in the movie is when the 2 detectives are talking to the hospital staff and other patients about what they remember about the missing patient. When he asks certain questions the hospital staff and patients all have the same answers and reactions which raise questions. The last scene they should include in the movie is when the warden Cauley shows them a sheet of paper they find behind the missing patients dresser. The piece of paper later leads them to the truth behind the whole mystery.

                Two specific parts of the book they should cut out is when they search around the island for the missing patient. They should cut this part out because they don’t end up finding her on the island. It’s a distraction the reader and it would be to the viewer’s too. The next scene they should cut out is when Marshal Teddy Daniels decides to leave the island because he is just bluffing and ends up not following through with it.