FILM REVIEW: Shutter Island

Posted by: Tony – Feb 19, 2010

Shutter Island, the new Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was building major hype at the end of last summer. Originally set to release in October, it looked set to be the biggest release of the fall. Then, just weeks before the intended release date, Paramount announced that the film was being pushed to February instead. Internet rumors abounded. Had the production run out of money? Were they undertaking massive reshoots because of poor test audience reactions? Were they trying to avoid tough competition for the 2009 Oscars and hoping 2010 would be a better year for them? Whatever the reason, most seemed to agree that the enormous delay meant the film would not turn out to be anywhere near as good as it looked. Now, with the true release upon us, we can finally breathe easy. The film is every bit the eerie psychological mystery it has been made out to be, and it is definitely worth seeing in the theater more than once.

The film, set in 1954, follows two federal marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. They have been sent to the titular island which houses a giant institution for the criminally insane because one of the dangerous patients has escaped from her room. In their investigation, they meet and question various doctors, nurses, orderlies, and patients, and they soon arrive at the conclusion that there is something more sinister going on at the facility than a missing patient. The patients seem to have been coached on their answers, the chief therapist in charge of caring for the missing patient has abruptly left on vacation before the marshals arrived, and the two doctors in charge of the entire complex, Dr. Cawley and Dr. Naehring seem more interested in dodging questions and analyzing the agents than in finding their patient. Teddy decides it may be in their best interest to turn the focus of their investigation away from the patient and onto the hospital itself.

This turns out to be difficult for Teddy and Chuck. They are not given much freedom to move around the buildings without the presence of a security guard, and their progress outside on the island is impeded by a hurricane that hammers the island with rain and wind from the first day the marshals arrived. To make matters worse, Teddy begins to suffer from migraines and occasional hallucinations, and he is haunted in his sleep by some legitimately terrifying nightmares involving his dead wife and things he saw during World War II. In a situation in which Teddy is surrounded by people he does not trust, he finds that he can no longer trust himself either. It becomes a race against time for Teddy to discover some kind of evidence of foul play on the island and escape before he loses his mind completely.

The film is wonderfully suspenseful as Teddy and Chuck make new discoveries that lead to more questions and dead ends. As Teddy becomes more paranoid and desperate, we feel it with him. What are the doctors hiding? Just how many people are in on it? Why do Teddy’s migraines and hallucinations only seem to get worse when Dr. Cawley gives him aspirin to treat them? The film does have an excellent twist ending. You may be able to figure it out ahead of time, but that is mainly because we have become conditioned to look for it. Incredibly, the filmmakers do not tip their hand too early. You may find that the climax, in which we finally learn what is truly going on, hits you as hard as it does Teddy.

After nearly half a year of delay, Martin Scorsese has delivered a film that will undoubtedly silence the skeptics. Shutter Island is a thrilling mystery that builds to an unrivaled level of suspense before laying down an earth shattering revelation. Do not wait. See this film as soon as you can. It is definitely a movie that will reward multiple viewings.

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For more check this short interview with Leonardo DiCaprio in today's Parade.

by Gareth Mussen