SIMILAR PRODUCTS - CHARACTER ANALYSIS 1

The Character i have chosen to analyse is Teddy Daniels (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) from the recent thriller film "Shutter Island". Ted is made out early on in the film to be a mainland officer who has been dispatched to shutter island  to solve the mystery of an escaped "mental" patient. He and his accomplice Chuck (played by Mark Ruffalo) work together to find evidence about the missing woman by interrogating the staff and the head doctor of the fassility.

At this point in the film Ted works very professional with his partner in a 1950's style. He also has a very typical in his dress sence for a 1950's detective, wearing; a suit, clean shoes, holstered gun and hat. Props used by himself also reflect the time, with him using a pencil and a note book for note taking. 

Ted suffers from a headache early on within the film which allows him to have dreams whilst sleeping of both shooting a group of captured surrendered Nazi's and of a women with young children who we soon discover to be his decised wife, he at this point however does not understand that they used to be both his wife, daughters and son. This is when the plot twist begins due to the head doctor starting to make him understand that his life ins't all that it seems.

After each vision he has he begins to change his attitude towards the staff and methods of interrogation, he gets obsessed with the idea implanted in his head by his partner that they wont get off of the island. From then on he ignores suggestions from his partner and desides to head for a light house which is said to be the place in which the mental patients are experimented on, this however is not the case and discovers the head doctor and his so called "partner"who convince him that he himself is actauly mental. He discovers that his "dreams" were actauly from his memory of him killing innocent men in WW1 and of his wife and children. He also discovers his source of insanity being that his wife drowned his 3 children through her own insanity of him not being there to support her. He however couldn't come to terms with their death so point a gone to her chest whilst embrassed and shoots her.

The whole investigation was made as a test by the doctor to see if they could find a cure for his reccuring insanity due to every-time finding out the truth which he forgets again and goes on the same investigation. The character is interesting as he is portrayed as being both strong by being in the army, however mentally weak and desitefull by killing his wife. He both shows to have 3 separate sorts of life's, one being in the army, one being the family man and bread winner and the other being this mental patient. 

To conclude he is a very intelegent character who was formally strong willed, however the reality of his insanity breaks him down. You feel sorry for him by the end, however feels quite threatening at the start due to holstering a pistol and being rather threatening in interrogation, this threat however reduces throughout the film as his insanity worsens.