Shutter Island will make you... well... it'll make you, you know... shutter.
Shutter Island
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Jackie Earle Haley, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer
directed by Martin Scorsese
I don’t know about you, but I got really tired of seeing previews for this film over and over and over again. It seems like it took forever to finally release to theaters. Still, I was immensely curious about the project; not only is Shutter Island the follow up to Martin Scorsese’s 2007 Oscar win, but it is the fourth collaboration between Martin and Leo DiCaprio. The Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed are all stellar films, and it just makes sense that these two movie making giants would bring something at the very least interesting to the big screen. Be warned, those of you who love the director’s crime dramas; Shutter Island is not your typical Martin Scorsese film.
U. S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) have been assigned to a case on Shutter Island, the home of a federal institution for the criminally insane. One of the patients, a mother who drowned her three children, has vanished and is no where to be found on the small island. However, it is apparent from the start that the Marshalls are not being told the entire truth. The head of the institution, Dr. Cawley (Kingsley) dodges questioning and refuses to give up certain paperwork. They are not being allowed into certain parts of the facility. But Teddy has his own reasons for taking the case; the supposed murderer of his wife is reported to be at the institution. As he digs deeper for answers about his own past as well as the missing person at hand, it becomes clear that not all things are as they seem. When Teddy’s reality starts to unravel around him, he must decide between what is real, and what is a delusion.
Martin Scorsese took a page right out of Stanley Kubrick’s book. Shutter Island is the kind of mind-thriller that Kubrick would have loved to be apart of; the entirety of the film makes you wonder if what you are seeing is reality, or the distorted view of one of the character’s own realities. The use of the music is very reminiscent of Kubrick’s past films; all silence is filled with an eerie and driving sound that masterfully makes the viewer feel edgy, and uneasy. The score almost gives the film a certain meter and tempo. It is inexplicably compelling. Furthermore, Scorsese channeled Kubrick in shooting certain sequences very choppy; as one cut rolls to the next, the actors aren’t always in the same position, they may not even be looking at each other, and in some cases their lips aren’t moving with their speech. At first I thought it was bad editing, but it became obvious that its intentional; it leaves you feeling disoriented, much like the main characters in the film. If this isn’t Scorsese’s best directing job of his career, it is definitely the one that he put the most effort into. It has been a long time since movies have been directed and cut with such a definite purpose. I mean, directors don’t direct this way anymore.
Leo DiCaprio takes a lot of flack from critics and fans alike, but I believe he is one of the top talents out there in film today. I can’t name one film that I can honestly say is a misstep or a failure for the young actor. He’s never the same character twice, and he has a wide variety of believable emotions. His performance of the determined but mix-minded Ted Daniels is compelling and believable. Not his best role ever, no, but he did knock it out of the park. Mark Ruffalo also is stellar. He has a way of underplaying roles that I love for some reason I can’t explain. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. Ben Kingsley does a fine job, but its nothing special. I’m wondering how long it will be before we see him in another Gandhi or Schindler’s List. Most of the acting he’s done in recent years have all been throw away roles. All of the supporting cast also acted well; I think the talent of the director generally makes or breaks the acting of the people who aren’t head liners. And Martin Scorsese inspires people to greatness.
The genius of this film is in how well it unsettles the viewer. Everything in the film conspires to make you uncomfortable and mess with your head. Some of the sequences are quite disturbing; there’s a scene at a Nazi death camp where piles of dead, frozen bodies litter the ground. Visions of pale, dead children coming to life and whispering “Why didn’t you save us?” Dreams of a woman bleeding profusely until melting away into ash. George Noyce (Haley) says it best; Teddy is a rat in a maze, and he just doesn’t realize it. The filmmakers really pushed the envelope to make the viewer feel like that rat in a maze . It makes for an interesting, if unnerving, movie watching experience.
But this must be said; I believe one of the worst things a film can do to you is purposely mislead you. No one likes to be fooled by a red herring just so the filmmakers can get a shock ending. The best example I can think of is 2005’s Stay. If you’ve seen it, you get what I’m saying. Good surprise endings are all in the ability of a writer to tell the story veiled yet plainly, without deliberate trickery. Shutter Island is on the borderline of being one of those films. The ending can easily be seen coming, but there are several scenes that try and coax you into believing something else. That’s about all I can say without ruining it for you. Suffice to say, if the film had ended right after the ‘twist,’ I would have been angry for wasting two hours. A few more minutes and a great line from DiCaprio saved the film for me. “Is it better to live a monster, than to die a good man?”
Shutter Island uses the crime drama vehicle to start a story that is really about perception and what the mind wants to believe. Martin Scorsese really stepped up his directing skills and would have done Stanley Kubrick proud. It is definitely a must see, just beware that you will not be comfortable and you are not meant to be satisfied with what unfolds. But is hardly something I’d want to experience again, so see it once and be done. Just be ready for one hell of a mental roller coaster.
Leo and Martin; Together Again
Shutter Island will make you... well... it'll make you, you know... shutter.
Shutter Island
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Jackie Earle Haley, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer
directed by Martin Scorsese
I don’t know about you, but I got really tired of seeing previews for this film over and over and over again. It seems like it took forever to finally release to theaters. Still, I was immensely curious about the project; not only is Shutter Island the follow up to Martin Scorsese’s 2007 Oscar win, but it is the fourth collaboration between Martin and Leo DiCaprio. The Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed are all stellar films, and it just makes sense that these two movie making giants would bring something at the very least interesting to the big screen. Be warned, those of you who love the director’s crime dramas; Shutter Island is not your typical Martin Scorsese film.
U. S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) have been assigned to a case on Shutter Island, the home of a federal institution for the criminally insane. One of the patients, a mother who drowned her three children, has vanished and is no where to be found on the small island. However, it is apparent from the start that the Marshalls are not being told the entire truth. The head of the institution, Dr. Cawley (Kingsley) dodges questioning and refuses to give up certain paperwork. They are not being allowed into certain parts of the facility. But Teddy has his own reasons for taking the case; the supposed murderer of his wife is reported to be at the institution. As he digs deeper for answers about his own past as well as the missing person at hand, it becomes clear that not all things are as they seem. When Teddy’s reality starts to unravel around him, he must decide between what is real, and what is a delusion.
Martin Scorsese took a page right out of Stanley Kubrick’s book. Shutter Island is the kind of mind-thriller that Kubrick would have loved to be apart of; the entirety of the film makes you wonder if what you are seeing is reality, or the distorted view of one of the character’s own realities. The use of the music is very reminiscent of Kubrick’s past films; all silence is filled with an eerie and driving sound that masterfully makes the viewer feel edgy, and uneasy. The score almost gives the film a certain meter and tempo. It is inexplicably compelling. Furthermore, Scorsese channeled Kubrick in shooting certain sequences very choppy; as one cut rolls to the next, the actors aren’t always in the same position, they may not even be looking at each other, and in some cases their lips aren’t moving with their speech. At first I thought it was bad editing, but it became obvious that its intentional; it leaves you feeling disoriented, much like the main characters in the film. If this isn’t Scorsese’s best directing job of his career, it is definitely the one that he put the most effort into. It has been a long time since movies have been directed and cut with such a definite purpose. I mean, directors don’t direct this way anymore.
Leo DiCaprio takes a lot of flack from critics and fans alike, but I believe he is one of the top talents out there in film today. I can’t name one film that I can honestly say is a misstep or a failure for the young actor. He’s never the same character twice, and he has a wide variety of believable emotions. His performance of the determined but mix-minded Ted Daniels is compelling and believable. Not his best role ever, no, but he did knock it out of the park. Mark Ruffalo also is stellar. He has a way of underplaying roles that I love for some reason I can’t explain. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. Ben Kingsley does a fine job, but its nothing special. I’m wondering how long it will be before we see him in another Gandhi or Schindler’s List. Most of the acting he’s done in recent years have all been throw away roles. All of the supporting cast also acted well; I think the talent of the director generally makes or breaks the acting of the people who aren’t head liners. And Martin Scorsese inspires people to greatness.
The genius of this film is in how well it unsettles the viewer. Everything in the film conspires to make you uncomfortable and mess with your head. Some of the sequences are quite disturbing; there’s a scene at a Nazi death camp where piles of dead, frozen bodies litter the ground. Visions of pale, dead children coming to life and whispering “Why didn’t you save us?” Dreams of a woman bleeding profusely until melting away into ash. George Noyce (Haley) says it best; Teddy is a rat in a maze, and he just doesn’t realize it. The filmmakers really pushed the envelope to make the viewer feel like that rat in a maze . It makes for an interesting, if unnerving, movie watching experience.
But this must be said; I believe one of the worst things a film can do to you is purposely mislead you. No one likes to be fooled by a red herring just so the filmmakers can get a shock ending. The best example I can think of is 2005’s Stay. If you’ve seen it, you get what I’m saying. Good surprise endings are all in the ability of a writer to tell the story veiled yet plainly, without deliberate trickery. Shutter Island is on the borderline of being one of those films. The ending can easily be seen coming, but there are several scenes that try and coax you into believing something else. That’s about all I can say without ruining it for you. Suffice to say, if the film had ended right after the ‘twist,’ I would have been angry for wasting two hours. A few more minutes and a great line from DiCaprio saved the film for me. “Is it better to live a monster, than to die a good man?”
Shutter Island uses the crime drama vehicle to start a story that is really about perception and what the mind wants to believe. Martin Scorsese really stepped up his directing skills and would have done Stanley Kubrick proud. It is definitely a must see, just beware that you will not be comfortable and you are not meant to be satisfied with what unfolds. But is hardly something I’d want to experience again, so see it once and be done. Just be ready for one hell of a mental roller coaster.