Reviewed by Kate Rodger
With
a long-awaited much-deserved Oscar under his arm for The
Departed, director Martin Scorsese gets all spooky on us
now, with Shutter Island.
It’s
1954 Cold War America. Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic
/ The Departed) is Teddy Daniels, a duly-appointed
federal marshal sent to Shutter Island, home to an
asylum for the criminally insane and packed to the gunnels with
complete nut-jobs.
He has a missing patient to
find, a mystery to unravel, a bad headache, and to add insult to
injury, the weather's not looking too good either.
After
watching the creepy scary trailer for this, I went in expecting a
spooky horror. What I got, was a psychological thriller that I really
needed to keep my wits about me to stay on top of. And I mean that in a
good way.
The film has been adapted from the
Dennis Lehane (Mystic River / Gone Baby
Gone) book of the same name, and I’m glad I hadn’t read it
beforehand. This is a wicked web to weave, and the cut and thrust of
the twists and turns are far more fun when you don’t know who or what
is around the corner.
The gleeful paranoia
Scorsese immerses us in is contagious, spreading from scene to scene,
as we endeavour to pick fact from fiction, and truth from
delusion.
DiCaprio’s offsider is Chuck Aule,
played with understated flare by Mark Ruffalo (You can Count
on Me / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind), and he’s just one of an excellent supporting cast.
Ben Kingsley (Gandhi / Sexy
Beast), Patricia Clarkson (The Station
Agent / Pieces of April) and Jackie
Earle Haley (Little Children /
Watchmen) are all stand-outs.
Scorsese
brings a distinctive if derivative film noir feel to the overall look
and tone of Shutter Island, and while the heavy
music and a few of his more indulgent flights of fancy grated a little,
it all added to the rich tapestry.
Not his best work nor his most original, but this is still a classy watch.
Four stars.
Shutter Island
:: Director: Martin Scorsese
::
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley,
Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley,
Patricia Clarkson
:: Running Time: 139 mins
::
Rating: R16 - Violence, Offensive Language
& Content That May Disturb
:: Release Date: February 18, 2010
::
Trailer: Click
here
