Martin Scorcece’s, Shutter Island is a psychological thriller based on the Dennis Lehane book by the same name. The story is set in 1954 and revolves around U.S Marshal Edward ‘Teddy’ Daniels and his newly assigned partner Chuck Aule who travel to Ashecliff hospital for the criminally insane situated on Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando. What begins as a simple inquiry turns out to be a psychological rollercoaster ride on which Teddy finds out that he is more invested in the outcome of the investigation than he ever believed to be.
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Leonardo DiCaprio plays the lead role as U.S Marshal Daniels in his fourth and final collaboration with Scorcese who has publicly announced that he will now find another muse. DiCaprio, who seems to be growing more as an actor with each role delivers another gritty and powerful performance. He is supported well by Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule) and Ben Kingsley, who plays Dr. John Cawley, the mysterious and often slightly infuriating head psychiatrist. Michelle Williams delivers a memorable and emotionally charged portrayal of Dolores Chanal.
The film is heavily character driven and relies greatly on the portrayals of its chief characters. Scorcese has always known how to pick his cast and although this film doesn’t boast any Oscar worthy performances audiences will be engrossed by some of the lead performances.
What audiences will surely be drawn to is the plotline and its often puzzling twists. From the very beginning it becomes evident that the film is not a straight forward crime thriller and Scorcese makes no effort to make it look so. Plenty of clues and hints are scattered around the first half of the film for a keen-eyed viewer to decipher what may be going on.
Though sometimes the film becomes predictable it doesn’t seem to entirely detract from the flow of the story. Scorcese certainly knows how to tell a story and his directorial prowess is proven in his delivery of an otherwise overused twist seen in many thrillers that have come before.
The film may be about twenty to thirty minutes too long considering some of the scenes seemed unnecessarily long and drawn out. However, with a line of complex characters and a host of obscure events and subplots, Shutter Island is a film that will have all your attention most of the time.
While Shutter Island may not be Scorsese’s finest work it certainly has great value in its story and delivery. The film is often chilling and will provide plenty for the audience to try and decipher while its intricate twists and turns ensure that the viewers are always guessing as to where the story will take them next. Capped with some fine performances and a memorable ending, this movie is highly entertaining and certainly worth a watch or two. |
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