Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a film by Martin Scorsese. That immediately requires it to be quite good, considering the talent that Scorsese has. It is a shocking, tense, and eerie film that is not so unlike the ones that he often does. For, it evokes a certain theme: men who think their going down the right path, when they're not. We open on a boat nearing Shutter Island. It's an island that houses mental patients (the setting is around the 40's and the noir feel is pretty well conveyed) and Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo near the madness, the score pounding, images quite scary. DiCaprio is Teddy. He and his partner are U.S. Marshals tasked with finding a missing patient. However, DiCaprio believes that something is awry, and that the intentions of the eerie Ben Kingsley as the head of the island and Max von Sydow (a doctor) are devious at best. However, things are not as they seem, and as Scorsese barrages us with frightening scenes and images--we get a quite different thing from him. We learn of Teddy's past. We see disgusting holocaust images (one's that are real, honest, and blunt), we learn of Teddy's wife and the horror of her death that continues to harrow him. This is beautifully done, and makes the picture. Many critics thought Scorsese was going over the top here, but I believe that it is honest and dreamlike--worthy of the best of David Lynch (and done with more coherence). Some say the film is predictable, and hell, even if it is, it makes what occurs more interesting. It's the intentions of the characters that makes the film so fascinating, the revelations only entertain us for a few minutes or even seconds (depending on their length). But it's the ideas behind them that interest us and make a film worthwhile. Shutter Island is by no means one of Scorsese's best films, but it is a very good one that is remarkable in its popularity. It is no gimmick or groovy twist ending kind of film, but one that was made with a crafty hand. It shows. Shutter Island is one of the best films of 2010.
Shutter Island: ★★★1/2