Shutter Island
Movie Review
"Shutter Island"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B
Rating: R
Released: Friday, February 19, 2010
Directed by:
Cast:
Coming on the heels of his multiple-Oscar-winning "The Departed," Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" is bound to feel like a letdown, especially since the "Departed" recognition had such a strong whiff of "lifetime achievement" about it. Scorsese's curse is that he's his own toughest act to follow.
To his credit, he seems positively unconcerned about such things. "Shutter Island" just happens to be the next movie he made after "The Departed," and if it's not as weighty or memorable as his best work -- well, what is? Scorsese's technical proficiency and overall mastery of the cinematic language are virtually unrivaled, even when, as here, the project is "only" a goose-bumpy B-movie.
Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane ("Mystic River," "Gone Baby Gone"), "Shutter Island" is set in 1954 at a high-security hospital for the criminally insane, conveniently located in Boston Harbor on the desolate title island. A federal marshal named Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), have come here by ferry to investigate a rather peculiar situation: one of the inmates has disappeared from her locked room, leaving no evidence of how she escaped (or "excaped," as DiCaprio pronounces it). The woman, named Rachel Solando, was incarcerated for murdering her three children, so she's not the type you want roaming free (assuming she could get off the island anyway) (which she couldn't).
Teddy confides in Chuck that it's no accident he was assigned to this case. Teddy's been keeping an eye on Shutter Island for several years, ever since the man responsible for his wife's death was imprisoned here, only to later be set free. Teddy is suspicious of the hospital's practices, and perhaps with good reason. The cell block reserved for the most dangerous offenders is strictly off-limits to visitors, and an old lighthouse that is supposedly only used now as a waste-treatment facility has barbed wire around it. Mmhmm.
The facility's administrators don't do much to put Teddy's mind at ease (Chuck is less skeptical). The top psychiatrist, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), insists on calling them "patients" rather than "inmates" and emphasizes his humane treatment of them -- perhaps over-emphasizes, Teddy thinks. And leading the board of trustees is the Freud-resembling Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow), who is German, the same nationality as the Nazis Chuck fought in World War II. He still has flashbacks and nightmares about the experience, and about his wife's death (she's played by Michelle Williams in these sequences). Teddy comes to believe there is something truly sinister going on here, and we're apt to agree.
Scorsese sinks his teeth into the spookiness of it all, clearly relishing the chance to do genre work: other than "Cape Fear," this is the closest he's come to making a "horror film." The forbidding island, the dark and stormy nights, the hurricane that shuts off the power, the creepy inmates, the mysterious vanishing woman, the presence of Ted Levine (the killer in "Silence of the Lambs") as a warden and Jackie Earle Haley (the child molester in "Little Children") as a prisoner -- these are toys for Scorsese to play with in his inimitable virtuosic way. Our first glimpse of the island, after Teddy and Chuck have been discussing how notorious it is, is accompanied by a blast of ominous, "Jaws"-ish cello music. It's played so loudly and prominently that you can picture Scorsese smiling at the operatic over-the-topness of it.
He's assisted by two longtime collaborators, cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who between them have won five Oscars, four of them for Scorsese films. (Richardson is currently nominated for "Inglourious Basterds," too.) They bring Scorsese's lush, Gothic vision to life with terrific confidence. I have to think even someone with only a passing interest in film could watch "Shutter Island" and, say, one of the "Saw" movies and easily see how one is more competently, professionally, skillfully made than the other, regardless of what you think of their entertainment value.
"Shutter Island's" only significant problem is that its last 20 minutes are completely insane, story-wise. I gather the screenplay adaptation, by Laeta Kalogridis ("Alexander," "Night Watch"), is faithful to Lehane's book, so maybe there's not much that could have been done -- but wow, does it ever get goofy. Yet at the same time, there's the sense that Scorsese enjoys and embraces the outrageousness of it. After all, without the glossy Scorsesean adornments, this would be a throwaway mystery-thriller, with barely a hint of depth. Don't think of it as Scorsese making something that's not as good as he's capable of. Think of it as Scorsese taking a story that should have been no better than average and making it worth watching.
Grade: B
Rated R, some harsh profanity, a handful of disturbing images, some violence, brief nonsexual nudity
2 hrs., 18 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.
This item has 12 comments
March 1, 2010 at 5:42 am
Scorsese and DiCaprio have done a lot of great projects together but this one was a flop to me. They stretched out to much on the unimportant scenes and hurried past the scenes that called for more in-depth info. Altogether I give it a B also. And you can best believe your sweet bottom that as much as this movie blows DiCaprio will surely win an Oscar because we all know the history, if your movie is dark underrated and unexplainable you win the Oscars, Academy and Golden Globes and in my book Leo is way overdue wouldn't you agree?
March 1, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Vague spoilers await...
I finally got around to seeing this over the weekend. I liked it quite a bit coming out, but in the past few days it just keeps getting better.
Not only is it a technical marvel (those images! That soundscape!), but...
Maybe it helps that I had the twist figured out months ago, but everything the film suggests about processing grief, denying tragedy, and the way DiCaprio's character can't stop punishing himself, all the while positing himself as the victim was terrifying and quietly moving.
I agree that the last twenty minutes are a mess, dramatically, and I know the film would be improved by having the revelation come much sooner, but I was nevertheless left in awe. Not only does it call to mind the great genre movies of the 1950s (and, by setting it in the 50s, is invigorated with the Cold War mentality of denial, claustrophobia, and paranoia), it does things with genre we've rarely seen since Vertigo.
I can't wait to see it again.
March 2, 2010 at 2:04 pm
i can't wait to see this, the commercials scare me right out of the room!
March 4, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Well, I read the book. It was actually amazing. But the last couple of chapters were rather confusing. I was overwhelmed at how much Lehane could fit into a 375 paged book. Nonetheless, I was left in awe at how much chills I got up my spine for half of it. I can't wait to see the movie tomorrow.
March 5, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I just came home from the movies, and I'm still thrilled by what I saw. As Eric says, the ending (or the last twenty minutes or so) is outrageous, but I wouldn't say it's goofy. (I'll try to explain myself spoiler-free-wise) I mean, you just can't believe what's going on because of what's been going on. I'd dare say that it's like a comment on "film grammar", so to speak, and also on the reality of what's going on on the screen (I wouldn't dare to use the word "subversion", though). Great film, and quite spooky...
And by the way, the story of "Ulysses" would be also a throwaway story, 24 hours in the life of an ordinary cuckold, but the greatness of it lies in the fact that we can actually live his life, feel what he feels and think what he thinks -- go all the way with him, his wife, his son, etc. In this case (even though "Shutter Island" is no "Ulysses"), we can also go through what's going on, and be thrilled by the trip, not by the backstory.
March 7, 2010 at 5:13 am
Confusing a lot of the time. Certain scenes dragged out. Not even slightly suspenseful or scary.
March 18, 2010 at 2:56 pm
this movie looks scary. but it turns out to be a beatiful movie
March 23, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Much Ado About Nothing should have been the title of this bomb. Yes, there were moody chills a-plenty....except for the fact that any semi-intelligent human can figure out the gist of what's really going on in the first half hour of the movie. Having done so, the entire remainder of the show is just plain annoying in its length and attempts to be "oooohhh, it's SO spooky! What's happening?" The answer is, sadly, no much at all.
However, DiCaprio's acting is (as always) excellent and a joy to watch him in his craft. Can't say the same for Shutter Island.
April 2, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Warning - Spoilers
Good enough film, not really a thriller/horror though.
The only scary parts were in the middle, the ending was very confusing... Not very well done.
DiCaprio'a acting in the film was very good and the same for the rest of the actors.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
When he figures out hes really Laeddis, and his wife killed their children and the little girl he keeps seeing is his daughter, it all rather betrays what had happened so far; Him meeting 'the real' Rachel in the cave and her warning him about the lighthouse and him coming on the boat as a marshal in the first place.
Overall, good enough film, although ending weak & confusing.
April 20, 2010 at 5:51 am
I rely on Eric D Snider for my movie reviews.
He is usually spot on.
But, in this case, for me, he didn't warn me how predictable it was going to be.
A grade B for the direction and visuals - yes.
A grade Y for Yawn - for the story.
If you've never seen "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" then, this story will have you spellbound.
If you've never seen Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" then, the direction will amaze you.
In fact, if you've never seen "The Sixth Sense", any episode of "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits" this film will seem like no other.
If you have, you may be mildly entertained (at the very least) or quite underwhelmed by the time the end credits roll.
There is no mystery here... Nothing to see... Move along.
May 6, 2010 at 11:15 am
LEONARDO DICAPRIO... what can i say, he died in Titanic. When Jack died, his acting died too.
June 21, 2010 at 10:36 am
Maybe I’m over thinking it and personalizing it too much but here’s a different take on the last 20 minutes.
SPOILER ALERT: Having lived 6 years with an undiagnosed and unmedicated husband with Bipolar Disorder, I can tell you that the ending felt very authentic to me. Eric used the terms “insane” and maybe that was the intent. If you don’t get it, thank your luck stars. It’s so easy to buy into someone else’s illness, especially when they seem OK and are convinced that their reality is in fact reality. It’s a frightening way to live. I can easily see myself turning into Teddy given the circumstances. I loved the movie for many reasons but the ending in particular spoke to me (metaphorically, I don’t hear voices). Now my soapbox: The vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent and are not a danger to anyone but themselves. They deserve love and compassion.