The film follows a U.S. Marshall, named Teddy Daniels, who is assigned with a new partner named Chuck (played by Mark Ruffalo) to investigate a missing patient from a mental institution on Shutter Island in 1954. This patient, who drowned her three children, seems to have “evaporated” right through the inescapable walls, and things get suspicious fast. The lead psychiatrist, played by Ben Kingsley, as well as the rest of the orderlies soon turn uncooperative with the investigation. Meanwhile, Teddy begins to have visions and dreams hinting at a violent and traumatic past.
As the investigation is going nowhere fast, the visions and dreams become more intense, and Teddy starts to uncover a vast conspiracy essentially using the patients at Shutter Island as test subjects, not unlike the Nazi concentration camps that he himself helped to liberate.
The main issues with this film are ones that didn’t bother me, but will get to some viewers. It is a long film, and while I was never bored or uninterested, some have complained that it drags around in the middle. This is not a film for the impatient. SPOILER There is also a twist ending to this film, and it is one that you have probably guessed if you’ve read this review, however I believe that having it figured out earlier on makes the movie much more interesting to watch, as in watching how faithfully the movie adheres to it. Just in case you don’t know it, however, I won’t give it away.
END SPOILER However, outside of minor gripes, the acting is amazing, the visuals are beautiful, the story is intriguing, and the suspense and subtle terror gripped me from the start. The stingy music is dark and ominous, and is always used in the right spots. The tension is never released in jump scares or action sequences, and it will keep most viewers glued to their seats throughout. For example, I got a bloody nose midway through the film, just randomly, and I sat in my seat and soaked the blood into my sleeve, as I didn’t want to miss a second.
A+
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Runtime: 138 minutes
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language and brief nudity
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
My policy of reviewing film is relative to none other than the individual film itself. With the exception of genre films and sequels, I rarely judge a movie on anything but its own merits. Shutter Island is an exception only for the fact that it is a Martin Scorsese picture, and the question that I was asking myself going in was whether it would be worthy of his name. I walked out with an answer, and that answer was absolutely.
This is an amazing thoughtful and fascinating tale, propelled into excellence by Scorsese’s directing and Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance. This isn’t Scorsese’s best work, but it isn’t his usual type of film, and it mostly just shows to illustrate that this director can tackle any genre.