Shutter Island

Tagline: Someone is missing.

So, this movie was highly anticipated by myself since I am in love with The Departed and I was very anxious to see this next venture from Leonardo DiCaprio and his mentor, Martin Scorsese. From the trailers, this movie seemed as though it would be a very disturbing horror type movie somewhat similar to House on the Haunted Hill, however from the reviews of the book and other movie buzz, it seemed like this movie was being marketed wrong by the producers. I went into this movie expecting a mind-bending suspense/thriller based on my own investigate work not based on the movie trailers.







The plot is adapted from a book of the same name by the best-selling author of Mystic River, Dennis Lehane. The story is centered around DiCaprio, a US Marshall, who is working with his partner, Mark Ruffalo, to uncover the secret behind a secluded mental institution for the criminally insane and ultimately find one of the most dangerous patients who has escaped. The investigation leads the duo to places where the secrets of the institution wait to be discovered.






The story was amazing. I imagine this was a great book. There was actual character development which didn’t feel artificial or forced in the movie and the twists and turns truly were organic and not for show. I would say the story was on par with The Departed so props to Scorsese for taking this on. Interestingly enough this movie was first slated to star Brad Pitt with Wolfgang Peterson directing, from Das Boot and Air Force One fame. The beginning definitely seemed to drag until the pace started to pick up in the middle. The middle started to pick up however it did have some lags. I would actually attribute this to bad editing with inconsistencies in the pace of the movie and not flaws with the plot or storyline. The latter part of the movie was definitely suspenseful and my attention was captivated through until the credits rolled.






The story was great, however, the picture was ‘ok’. Let me first start with the editing, which was atrocious. There were so many jump cuts from motion to static shots, which I think was even noticeable to people not prone to look for editing style. Not only was the editing immature, but the effects were very unrealistic. Be prepared to see very obviously fake fire, water, and cliff scenes. This brings us to the score which was very trite and overly ominous, much like The Wolfman or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The camera work also revealed inexperience with excessive camera movement and zooming in the beginning of the movie. The film choice was nice and the slight blue filter is always a plus in my book. I was surprised with these obvious flaws from Scorsese and when I look back I know Goodfellas didn’t have the best editing or the biggest budget cinematography, however, he made it flow and work naturally which I don’t think he was able to pull off with Shutter Island.






Performances: Stellar! DiCaprio if not already cemented in the actors’ hall of fame, proved why he is a force to be reckoned with. He gave a superb performance especially towards the end with a few pivotal scenes which showed what I already thought of him as an actor. I honestly don’t think the movie would have been the same, or had the same end result, if Brad Pitt had been cast. Mark Ruffalo also proved he is a real actor and can rise above romantic comedies. Michelle Williams did a great job but she usually does really great with these unique supporting roles. Ben Kingsly has played this role before and does a good job, but it’s really nothing new for him. Overall, the performances were great in this movie.






Overall, I would probably recommend this to anyone out of the movies that are currently playing in theaters. I will give a warning that I will be scarred for life from a few scenes only due to the involvement of children but I think it was professionally done and wasn’t too damaging. I was glad I saw this movie but I will not put it on the same level as The Departed and not even close to Goodfellas. Great quote; “Is it better to live as a monster or die a hero”.