Shutter Island Review

"When you see a monster, you must stop it." - Dr. Jeremiah Naehring

Sorry, John Locke, but this Island is not "a place where miracles happen." The ending no doubt makes that clear but I won't ruin that. Nor will I make another Lost reference in this review...Well maybe just a few more. Come on, you can't give me a mysterious island and not expect me to do it.

Shutter Island is the anticipated Martin Scorsese adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel. First think about those names. Martin Scorsese: director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed. Dennis Lehane: writer of the acclaimed novels Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone (Mystic River was adapted into the highly acclaimed film by Clint Eastwood and Gone, Baby, Gone by Ben Affleck). These two have made their careers off of making true gold in their artistic fields.

Now the trailers make Shutter Island appear to be about a couple of US Marshalls going to an infamous mental institution on said island to investigate the disappearance of a deranged murderess, meanwhile a possible conspiracy is going on behind the curtains of the institution. But there is a lot more to it than just that. And not what you would expect. The film keeps pace when changing its gears in tone. Some people don't like changes in tone with or without pace. I do. The film goes from being an edgy crime noir, to hardboiled, disturbing mystery, and is constantly on a mode of unsettling and spellbinding psychological conflict.

There are a lot of things that don't add up to the Marshalls. Like how could a crazy former housewife have escaped from such a secure place and have disappeared on an island with such treacherous terrain? Why does everyone, staff and patients alike, seem to be trying to play along with something...mysterious? Why is the place triggering bad dreams that spill off into the waking world of Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo Dicaprio)? Why is the place administrated by some of the most menacing guys ever (Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow, Ted Levine).

Shutter Island is very character driven. This is film noir, though, and film noir has always dealt with the troubled and vague motivations of its characters. Dicaprio's character Teddy is particularly interesting (as he should be being he is the main character), from literally the first moment he is displaying his limitations (sea sickness). He appears direct and hard boiled like any noir protagonist, but as the film progresses and the events that take place weigh in, he deteriorates. His past comes into play often. Be it the horrors of his service as WWII infantryman or the memory of his dead wife (Michelle Williams), all things that get an immediate sympathy vote for Teddy. The Island and it's institution, which I thought would be forbidding and claustrophobic, turned out to be open, as if welcoming others in to be infected by it's insanity and darkness. How about the institution's staff, headed by Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley). Who at times appears friendly but obviously secretive, especially with G-men in his midst. Kingsley has the capacity to be scary as hell, I remembered that (but I also remembered he played Gandhi once). Other creepy men in charge are Max Von Sydow and Ted Levine. Sydow (always a force of menace) is Dr. Naehring, immediately sly and cold. He is less compassionate than Dr. Cawley, but like I said you don't trust any of them. Than Levine as the Chief Warden, who likes making his first impressions by discussing violence, be it the violence of God or yourself or himself. Levine played Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs mind you. The staff is presented as a cross between Nurse Ratchett and Dr. Mengele, but they have a perspective as well. Then there's the patients of the institution. We meet a few really nasty characters who make you worry about the doctors a whole lot less. There is a violent former friend (Jackie Earle Haley), a surprising ghost from Teddy's past (Elias Koteas), a fidgety axe murderer who shifts from welcoming to unwelcoming like it's a game, and then the missing girl herself (Emily Mortimer). Other women include a cynical and seemingly sane confidant (Patricia Clarkson) and then the apparition of the hero's lost love (Michelle Williams). All of the characters were pretty well rounded and if they weren't it added to their mystique. Like all noir characters, they often keep themselves in the shadows, in actuality and in metaphor.

The story started out a bit cliche, until the characters began to unravel its layers. Dennis Lehane, the writer of the original book, always seems to have the same motifs in his stories: the darker side of Boston and morality among the main characters. At some point, usually near the end, his characters face a choice of whether to do something that's right but they don't want or do something that's wrong but they do want and vice versa. That's a good element. Teddy is shown to have faced that choice several times in his life and will have to face it again by the end. I have not read Lehane's books but I have seen their adaptations and all of them, including Shutter Island, have been breathtaking. If I were to reveal any other elements of the story, I might just totally ruin the movie and I clearly don't want to do that.

There is also the technical aspect to be considered. Scorsese has always had a passionate style when it comes to directing movies. Cinematography is particularly mesmerizing in his work and it still is here. Just about every shot became a new favorite as the film kept going. I've noticed in recent years Scorsese has been able to make the grimiest and unsavory places look according to three Es: elegant, effective and excellent. Editing is also effective. I love the way flashbacks were used as well. The main and only set pieces of the movie are extraordinary. The Island, though not as dangerous and frightening as Lost's, is still treacherous and not the kind of place you want to go for a stroll in. The institution is far scarier, making the House On Haunted Hill look warm and cozy. The A and B wings of the place are like all hospitals: they are cold and pale and fail to be comfortable. C wing, where the most violent out of really violent patients are held, is wet, dark and haunting like is someone gave a little more thought to the architecture of a sewer. The acting is tremendous. As I've said Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow and Ted Levine all play the friendly but slightly off leaders well. Kingsley, who has played the most evil out of all of them, however, still has that hint of Gandhiness in his eyes. The actresses are very good; none of them are femme fatales but all of them are tragic. Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson seem to be playing the same role and not at the same time (if that makes sense) but they are both absolutely convincing. Michelle Williams wells the eyes with tears every time she speaks in that forlorn (correct use of vocab words, eh Shepherd?) tone of hers. Jackie Earle Haley brings out an emotional highpoint in his one scene like he has been doing a lot lately; this former Bad News Bear is an exciting returning actor. Mark Ruffalo plays Dicaprio's partner well, you like him and trust him all the way through, even when his loyalty is brought into question. Then there is Leonardo Dicaprio. Let me put it this way, has Leonardo Dicaprio ever been terrible in a movie? Has he ever been considered a bad actor? I will answer your question: NO HE HAS NOT!!! Of course Dicaprio is tremendous in this, he acts every role like it is the role of a lifetime and comes out on top, which makes him the obvious choice as Scorsese's filmmaking partner.

In closing of this long ass review, Shutter Island was a splendid drama and mystery and thriller. I enjoyed it all around. Though I did wonder, before the film's end, what it would all lead up to. Maybe Leo would find a secret hatch embedded in the ground. Maybe the hospital staff were a secret society sworn to protect the island from outsiders. Maybe the apparitions and hallucinations were the disguises and tricks of a mysterious monster. Maybe the movie's infamous patient 67 is the true candidate to replace Jacob. Maybe I should dispense with the Lost references and end this thing.

This has been a long review confused with an analysis from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.