Review: Shutter Island

Fun fact: There was a 'Clash of the Titans' trailer attached to this film and gentleman sitting next to me politely (and loudly) pointed out somewhere near the 2 hour mark that if Liam Neeson were in this movie he wouldve already killed everyone on this island, saved who he needed to save and hijacked a ferry back to the mainland. I laughed.

'Shutter Island' follows Teddy Daniels (Leonardo Dicaprio) a US Marshall sent to an isolated island off the coast of Boston, MA that houses the criminally insane. He's there to investigate a missing patient with his newly appointed partner Chuck Alue (Mark Ruffalo). Teddy is very damaged, he lost his wife (played by Michelle Williams in flashbacks) in a fire. He's a WWII vet who is still haunted by seeing dead bodies at a concentration camp. Once he gets to Shutter Island and visits with the doctors (Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow) he begins to grow suspicious. Something just doesn't feel right about that place.

There's a lot of pleasant surprises in this film. Certain actors you maybe weren't expecting show up in the film. I won't say who because that will spoil the surprise. Leo (director Martin Scorcese's go to guy) is fantastic as ever. He said this film was daunting for him, and you can see why. He gives a hell of a performance in a very emotionally draining role. .

The suspense is great. I never read the book so I went into the film with brand new eyes, and from what I've heard its very closely adapted. The editing was a little sketchy at times, but the flashback scenes were beautiful, and a lot of that credits to Michelle Williams. She was perfect, all dressed in yellow and innocent looking, surrounded by all things burning and dark. Those could've been cheesy, but they never were. They were intense and sometimes frightening.

Recommended: Yes 4/5 stars

Memorable quote: "Why are you all wet baby?" - Ben Kingsley ( Dr. Cawley) This quote is actually muttered by a few different people throughout the film. I chose 'Kingsley's because it provides one of the bigger "wtf" moments at the end.

Comments

  1. ah, iloved this movie. so great. pleasant surprises like you said that kept you guessing to the end.

    ReplyDelete

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