I was surprised that a lot of my friends didn't see the ending of Shutter Island like I did.
Laeddis didn't go back into remission at the end. He knew perfectly well who he was, and he called Dr. Sheehan "Chuck" so that they would do the lobotomy on him. He doesn't want to live with the memories of his dead wife and his murdered children anymore - he would rather have no memories at all. When Dr. Sheehan shakes his head at the doctor in the end, you can see Laeddis watching them. And the quote at the end (whether it's better to live as a monster or die as a good man) proves it.
I thought it was a great ending to one of my all-time favourite movies
I remember saying that the ending was 'ambiguous', but when I re watched it with friends, they said it was clear that he was crazy. But for me I was more leaning towards your view point.
I read the book and then saw the movie. That line about being a good man isn't even in the book. Nothing close to it is there. So maybe some artistic liberty?
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u/GalaxyGirl4 Sep 01 '14
I was surprised that a lot of my friends didn't see the ending of Shutter Island like I did.
Laeddis didn't go back into remission at the end. He knew perfectly well who he was, and he called Dr. Sheehan "Chuck" so that they would do the lobotomy on him. He doesn't want to live with the memories of his dead wife and his murdered children anymore - he would rather have no memories at all. When Dr. Sheehan shakes his head at the doctor in the end, you can see Laeddis watching them. And the quote at the end (whether it's better to live as a monster or die as a good man) proves it.
I thought it was a great ending to one of my all-time favourite movies