‘Shutter Island’ review

The finest of American directors, Martin Scorsese, directs the new thriller ‘Shutter Island’, and it’s the finest film in several months. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a U.S. marshal, Teddy Daniels. Daniels is sent to investigate the disappearance of a patient on an island solely for holding the criminally insane. However, when a hurricane hits the island and leaves him stranded there, questions arise about the purpose of the asylum, the intentions of the staff, and Teddy’s motives for being there. Daniels must also deal with recurring hallucinations of his dead wife.

There’s a large amount of reasons that I adored this film so much but I’ll start out by saying: This is a gorgeous movie for both sight and sound. The cinematography framed so perfectly by Robert Richardson, is nothing less than Oscar-worthy. Throughout the film I stopped paying attention for intervals of about 15 seconds, just to marvel how beautiful it is. And the music? Impeccable. Scorsese opted to use previously-written pieces for the soundtrack instead of composing one, and the music is alternately beautiful, booming, mysterious, yet always chilling.

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of America’s finest actors. He portrays a man wracked with guilt and pain, and a plot revelation within the last several minutes casts his performance in a new light. He is simply amazing here. Scorsese assembled a simply fantastic cast: Mark Ruffalo as Leo’s partner has a fairly minor yet ultimately vital role, and pulls it off perfectly. Ben Kingsley as the mild-mannered yet mysterious head of the asylum doesn’t have a particularly large part, but remains really quite good here.

Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson both portray Rachel Solando, the escaped patient that brings Teddy to Shutter Island. I can’t overstate how good both of them are. Mortimer is unhinged, is loose, and genuinely terrifying in her scene as Rachel, and Clarkson…For the sake of plot spoilers I won’t give away the details of her appearance, but it’s one of the film’s stand-out moments for sure. Michelle Williams as Daniels’ deceased wife is excellent, as is Jackie Earle Haley as an inmate who has unfinished business with Daniels.

The film is being widely promoted as a horror film and although its undoubtedly creepy, there’s not a scary moment in the film. That said, its often unbearably tense, although its not out of worry that someone will leap at the screen, its out of worry that the protagonist may not retain his sanity. The film is often dream-like, and has many surrealistic qualities. I can’t give away how these adjectives apply into the film, but they add a great deal to it.

In a genre such as this, the ending often makes or breaks the film. And the last 15 minutes will undoubtedly divide audiences. I adored the ending. It casts all the characters’ actions in a brand-new light, and will no doubt fuel repeat viewings in order to fully comprehend it all. The final shot of the film is truly heartbreaking.

So, all in all, ‘Shutter Island’ is an excellent film. The performances are uniformly fantastic, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Mortimer in particular. The cinematography and score to the film are amongst the finest in years, and the film builds to a truly fantastic ending that has stayed with me, a week after I saw it. ‘Shutter Island’ isn’t for everyone, to be sure, but I think it’s yet another masterpiece from Martin Scorsese.

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