Theatrical Review: Shutter Island

Shutter Island was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio (because they’re in love), Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and John Carroll Lynch. There’s much more to the cast, but those are just the few that I actually care about. It takes place at a mental facility for the criminally insane on a remote island in 1954. Leonardo plays as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshall investigating a missing patient with his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo).

Even Mark Ruffalo thinks Leo's prop tie is the sex

Shutter Island begins with Teddy getting seasick on a ferry on its way to the island. This involves lots of dry heaving and the feeling that this guy may actually blow chucks on screen. He soon meets his partner, Chuck, and lands on the Island itself. It could be my seasonal, deep obsession with Lost, but I half expected John Locke to greet them. With a knife.

If you’ve been anywhere outside of a hole for the last year, then you already know that the film is a thriller, shrouded in mystery. Per contra, this is not a horror film with chainsaw wielding psychopaths running around in dank, gloomy, mental wards, as the many witless patrons that I shared a theater with imagined it would be. For most of the film, Teddy has flashbacks of a Nazi death camp from WWII as well as hallucinations of his deceased wife, which is mentioned at the beginning. All this happens continuously throughout the film. At some points you’re not sure if he’s hallucinating again, or if what he’s experiencing is actually real.

The story evolves at a few key moments taking the film in a new direction, but without leaving the original plot in the dust. Also, the pace of the film continues steadily without taking a break on random, non-essentials. There are occasional moments where something is alluded to, but nothing follows through. This is rare, but is still something that feels overlooked, and not purposeful. Almost every dream sequence has a small clue that connotes what is really happening in the story, howbeit, this is not something you pick up on unless you already know what is unfolding.

You did what to your husband?

I’ve done my best to not give out any spoilers this time. The subtleties that are creatively woven throughout the film come together very well at the big reveal, even up until the last line. If I were to talk about it anymore, I would unfortunately begin to give away the plot line, cause you to go insane, and have you end up in some creepy mental ward on a remote island. I won’t say this is an amazing film, but I will say that its a great one. It’s highly enjoyable and not easily forgettable.

• See in theaters? Yes
• Rent? Fo shizzle
• Buy? The fact that Martin Scorsese directed this is reason enough.

*Bonus: I forgot to mention, the score is simple and yet perfectly creepy. You’d be surprised at how a foghorn blowing every other second never actually gets annoying.