‘Shutter Island’ a jaw-dropping thriller film
Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” is the movie equivalent of a claustrophobic nightmare. You don’t watch it; you experience it. Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River,” “Gone Baby Gone”), the story plays out like a moral endurance test in which ordinary people are placed right in the middle of an environment that is anything but ordinary. It’s Lehane’s literary gift that enables him to peel away the wounds of his characters, and with Scorsese’s personal touch of expertise added into the equation, this is one perfect example of a film that goes way beyond a “whodunit” premise, and digs deep into a world where nothing’s as it seems.
Set in the outskirts of the Boston Harbor in 1954, “Shutter Island” opens with two U.S. marshals who are on their way to a desolate island that is home to an asylum for the criminally insane. The leader of the duo is Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), and aside from breaking in his new partner (Mark Ruffalo), the skeptical detective must help the hospital’s chief administrator (Ben Kingsley) as they try to uncover the whereabouts of a patient named Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer), who just suddenly disappeared from her room without a trace.
As soon as the two marshals arrive, Scorsese (in his usual form) maneuvers a series of chilling images and broad shots to set the tone of the atmosphere before we are even briefed with details of the missing party. This technique while somewhat clichéd, is just what the film needs to get our minds in the right place. Then once we are introduced to the creepy Dr. John Cawley (Kingsley), it is only a matter of time before the layers begin to unfold.
For the sake of preserving total surprise, I will not tread any further into the plot. But to be fair, I will say to my devoted readers that if you haven’t read the book, I strongly advise you to do so before going to see the film. I’ve already mentioned how Lehane centers his plots around the characters who make them happen, and the same goes for director Scorsese. These two icons are a perfect match for this book-to-screen effort, and at the core of all its tumultuous chaos is DiCaprio.
In his fourth collaboration with Scorsese, DiCaprio has once again spread his wings as a true performer who can gravitate from one role to another the way an average person puts on a new shirt every day. It’s hard to compare it to his work in “The Aviator” or “The Departed,” but “Shutter Island” is by far DiCaprio’s most haunting performance as he embodies the ego of a man shattered by a violent past, and distant memories of his deceased wife (Michelle Williams). Obviously the corruption in Teddy’s mind serves as a figurative representation of the hospital he is now investigating, and like the demons that haunt him, the essence of danger can only grow heavier as it awaits him at the turn of every corner.
To say that “Shutter Island” is a thriller of layers would be one hell of an understatement indeed. We’ve all heard the common “roller-coaster” line to emphasize films that just keep twisting and turning, but there is a proper way to handle such a clamored structure, and this is one of the best examples I’ve ever seen. Most directors think that if they can just jolt the audience, then it won’t really matter if the details make sense as long as the impact is felt. Martin Scorsese is not one of those directors, and “Shutter Island” is not that type of thriller. This is the kind of film where you sit very quietly in the theater and hold on to your chair as it embraces you like an experiment in which you’re just an innocent little rat trying to find your way through a dark maze. By the time it reaches the climax, “Shutter Island” will have already knocked your jaw to the floor … only to lift it back up and then drop it harder.
Posted by Chris Moskaly
on Feb 19 2010. Filed under Reviews.
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