DiCaprio and Scorsese pair up for another succes
February 26, 2010
“Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator” and “The Departed,” — Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are a match made in heaven, and the combination succeeds once again. Welcome to “Shutter Island.”
Scorsese’s latest is an intelligent, thrilling, moving and tense psychological experiment. It deserves the viewer’s attention and its complexity will move many to see it twice.
The film opens with seasick, bandaged U.S. federal marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) on a ferry approaching Shutter Island. He is sweating profusely and continuously telling himself to pull it together. He has been called in to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient who has, according to lead physician Dr. Crowley, “evaporated through the walls.”
Daniels is as complex as they come and it is quite obvious that he has been ravaged by a life of violence — a World War II veteran, deeply troubled by his past. The audience is along for the ride with Daniels, making guesses at every turn, as the movie is shot entirely from his perspective.
Shutter Island is home to a one-of-a-kind mental institution for the criminally insane; almost all of the patients are murderers. Being surrounded by such violence has devastating effects on Daniels’ ability to perform his duty as a detective and, like Daniels, the viewer will be equally suspicious of every character.
Visual clues are subtly placed throughout the film that act like literary techniques in a novel. For the observant and the astute, Scorsese’s cinematography will tell the true story.
We are convincingly thrust into Daniels’ psyche, and “Shutter Island” quickly reveals itself as something truly remarkable and unexpected. Scorsese manages to place the viewer in the mind of Daniels, and even as the wounded marshal begins to question everything around him, we truly believe in him.
“Shutter Island” proves to be an intriguing and fresh experience in a genre that is rarely exploited by men of Scorsese’s caliber. Scorsese’s latest film is a smart and stylish knockout.
4/4 stars
