Since Gangs of New York, one of the most talented film makers of our time, if not all time has collaborated with Leonardo Di Caprio. Some might say Leo DiCap is like the equivalent of a young De Niro, who also worked quite extensively with the icon that is Martin Scorsese in his younger days. If you go back through time, Scorsese has brought to the screen some incredibly memorable movies from the likes of Taxi Driver and Mean Streets to Goodfellas and the Aviator. So is Shutter Island another movie that will leave the Scorsese mark on film, or will it be better off lost at sea? 
U.S. Marshall, Teddy Daniels (Di Caprio) is investigating the disappearance of a murderous patient / prisoner who has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane located on Shutter Island off the coast of Boston. Besides the on going investigation, Daniels has pushed for an assignment to Shutter Island for some time as he believes an arsonist who burnt down his building (killing his wife) is located somewhere in the facility. After much snooping around he realises that all isn’t exactly how it seems and he believes illegal, brain mushing experiments are happening on Shutter Island which Daniels thinks are linked to Nazi’s. Throw a hurricane into the mix which causes some more dangerous criminals to escape as the clues stack up and you really only have opened the front door to Shutter Island. To go into any more detail here, would be classed as a spoiler, so I’ll leave well enough alone!
DiCaprio’s acting here, starts well and by the end he puts in a really impressive performance. And as the movie continues, his performance just keeps getting better and better and better. The real show stopper though, is Ben Kingsley. As the Dr. who is one of the few responsible for what happens on Shutter Island, he is truly convincing and regardless of what he may do or say, this is one character you will love to hate!
Some might find Shutter Island a little predictable at times, and to be fair on occasion it can be, but your still not entirely sure whether or not the predictability is actually genuine, or is it a little distraction to throw you off what you think you know! The visuals in Shutter Island are, in true Scorsese fashion, quite stunning and varied. The actual hospital itself is quite a contrast with beautifully kept gardens on the outside to the madness that lives on the inside.
On another note though, at times though, the soundtrack which uses various modern classical piece’s can be over powering and while it should add to the tension, at times it’s too loud and over shadow’s what’s going on, on screen!
Soundtrack criticism’s aside, by the time Shutter Island comes to it’s thrilling finale, you’ll actually feel like you were kept prisoner by Martin Scorsese. This movie will mess with your head for the first half as quite a number of scenes, to me anyway, look quite experimental for Scorsese, as flashback’s and nightmare’s surround Teddy Daniels. Then around the middle, it level’s out and as an audience you get your bearings and then off we go to the crazy house again as the movie twist’s and turn’s around in your mind in the final chapters. When Shutter Island closes it’s door and the credits roll, you won’t be running out the door of the cinema. Far from it, you’ll slowly wander out thinking about what has just taken place. Did Martin Scorsese really climb inside my mind with his movie? Was his movie an almighty headtrip? Was I actually a patient in Shutter Island for 138 minutes! One word answers the above questions. And it’s not No or maybe. It’s a resounding Yes! Shutter Island, while its not Scorsese’s finest work and it’s not for everybody, it’s certainly one of his better and is thoroughly enjoyable! And the weird thing is, it’s even more enjoyable when it’s over as your brain attempts to figure out what’s just happened!
U.S. Marshall, Teddy Daniels (Di Caprio) is investigating the disappearance of a murderous patient / prisoner who has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane located on Shutter Island off the coast of Boston. Besides the on going investigation, Daniels has pushed for an assignment to Shutter Island for some time as he believes an arsonist who burnt down his building (killing his wife) is located somewhere in the facility. After much snooping around he realises that all isn’t exactly how it seems and he believes illegal, brain mushing experiments are happening on Shutter Island which Daniels thinks are linked to Nazi’s. Throw a hurricane into the mix which causes some more dangerous criminals to escape as the clues stack up and you really only have opened the front door to Shutter Island. To go into any more detail here, would be classed as a spoiler, so I’ll leave well enough alone!
DiCaprio’s acting here, starts well and by the end he puts in a really impressive performance. And as the movie continues, his performance just keeps getting better and better and better. The real show stopper though, is Ben Kingsley. As the Dr. who is one of the few responsible for what happens on Shutter Island, he is truly convincing and regardless of what he may do or say, this is one character you will love to hate!
Some might find Shutter Island a little predictable at times, and to be fair on occasion it can be, but your still not entirely sure whether or not the predictability is actually genuine, or is it a little distraction to throw you off what you think you know! The visuals in Shutter Island are, in true Scorsese fashion, quite stunning and varied. The actual hospital itself is quite a contrast with beautifully kept gardens on the outside to the madness that lives on the inside.
On another note though, at times though, the soundtrack which uses various modern classical piece’s can be over powering and while it should add to the tension, at times it’s too loud and over shadow’s what’s going on, on screen!
Soundtrack criticism’s aside, by the time Shutter Island comes to it’s thrilling finale, you’ll actually feel like you were kept prisoner by Martin Scorsese. This movie will mess with your head for the first half as quite a number of scenes, to me anyway, look quite experimental for Scorsese, as flashback’s and nightmare’s surround Teddy Daniels. Then around the middle, it level’s out and as an audience you get your bearings and then off we go to the crazy house again as the movie twist’s and turn’s around in your mind in the final chapters. When Shutter Island closes it’s door and the credits roll, you won’t be running out the door of the cinema. Far from it, you’ll slowly wander out thinking about what has just taken place. Did Martin Scorsese really climb inside my mind with his movie? Was his movie an almighty headtrip? Was I actually a patient in Shutter Island for 138 minutes! One word answers the above questions. And it’s not No or maybe. It’s a resounding Yes! Shutter Island, while its not Scorsese’s finest work and it’s not for everybody, it’s certainly one of his better and is thoroughly enjoyable! And the weird thing is, it’s even more enjoyable when it’s over as your brain attempts to figure out what’s just happened!
