SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)- WHO IS CHUCK?

What did you feel after watching “Shutter Island? I was in awe because; I never expected such a climax. Never ever did I think that Teddy wasn’t a cop. For sure, I thought that he was a little eccentric, but being insane is a whole different thing.

 So…… I decided to watch it once again. Believe me! This time literally every scene proved that he is insane. I just couldn’t unsee it. And also I would like to appreciate the underrated performance of Mark Ruffallo as Dr. Sheehan aka Chuck. He was exceptional. On the first watch we feel that Dicaprio overshadowed him. No offense to Dicaprio, please dare to watch the movie once again, you will be amazed. Ruffallo is literally flawless in his portrayal of Dr. Sheehan aka Chuck. You could literally read the story from his expressions. He just confirms all your doubts from the first watch.

In the first watch he is just an assistant, who is little bit unsure about the island residents. Also he doesn’t seem to be disturbed as much as Teddy. He seems to be rather confused. Many things are not bothering him as much they bother Teddy. He seems to be just a supporting character. Only towards the end of the movie, will we start to doubt him as a backstabber. Maybe some of us have doubted him from the beginning itself, because it is the most obvious twist to such a dark mystic movie. Either way, we all know that it is not the twist.

BECAUSE! It is a Scorsese movie.

Chucks role is over. And here comes Dr. Sheehan. This is where the movie takes an unusual turn.

Many people think that this movie has an open ending. People cannot be blamed, since there is a whole lot evidence to prove both sides. But if you observe Chuck aka Dr. Sheehan character, he almost confirms that Teddy is actually insane. He has been a cautious doctor throughout. At times he really acts like he knows the exact magnitude of Teddy’s insaneness.  There are a lot of other things too. His difficulty in handling gun despite being a cop, his attitude towards other patients and staff, his undoubting behaviour and people’s peculiar attitude only towards Teddy (despite both of the being together all the time)!

Everything is open to judgement!!!

The brilliance in this movie is that most of us don’t see these things in the first watch.

Nobody else has enacted such different shades of a role in this movie. He literally embodied a confused assistant, a brilliant backstabber and finally a cautious doctor ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Whatever you want to think of Chuck, he is that. But the case is little different with Teddy. Once you think of him as an insane person, it is little bit difficult to unsee it.

A brilliantly tailored character and undoubtedly executed near to perfection.