Shutter Island will keep you mesmerized throughout the film. It is a taunt, twisting thriller that keeps you guessing with the characters. What is going on? Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Max von Sydow give gripping performances, filled with menace and intensity.
The movie is based on a novel written by Dennis Lehane, who wrote Gone Baby Gone. The novel was adapted for the screen by Laeta Kalogridis, of the Pathfinder fame. The direction chores are ably handled by c, the Oscar winning director of The Departed. Shutter Island would be a less spell binding thriller under a lesser director. Martin Scorsese assembled an immensely talented cast and inflicted excellent performances from each. The taunt edge of your seat pacing drives the story, what is going to happen next. The scene selection must of been tough but, the editing was top notch.
The story begins in 1954 with U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed) and his new partner Chuck Aule, Mark Ruffalo (What Doesn’t Kill You) going to Shutter Island, a famous insane asylum for the worst of the worst. They have been sent to investigate the escape by a woman who drowned her three children and disappeared into thin air. The island is only approachable by one pier that leads to the only gate and the rest of the island is dominated by sheer cliffs. The insane asylum is really bizarre and gives them both the creeps.
They meet Dr. Cawley, Sir Ben Kingsley (War,Inc.) and are allowed to investigate, with supervision, the crime scene. Both Teddy and Chuck discover that everything is not as it seems. The woman escaped from a small room with barred windows and locked from the outside. She had to had help. That evening they are invited to dinner at Dr. Cawley’s and meet the other doctor in charge, Dr. Naehring, Max Von Sydow, (The Tudors) and start believing there is a cover up. The doctors won’t release the patient or employee files to them, and one doctor has already left the island.
A hurricane is bearing down on the island, communication to the mainland is cut off and the ferry that brought them is not running. The back story on Teddy now begins to appear. He is an alcoholic that has bizarre nightmares about his wife, Dolores, who died in an apartment fire. The nightmares continue to haunt him throughout the movie. The doctors, patients and staff seem to be hiding the truth, there is something going on at the asylum, in fact one patient writes down “run” in his notebook. He suspects that Dr. Cawley is misdirecting him and Dr. Naehring is a Nazi war criminal up to no good.
He seems to be thwarted in his efforts to visit all the wards. The hurricane becomes worse and the inmates from the worst ward have escaped. Teddy and Chuck now have their opportunity to slip in and see for themselves. Teddy and Chuck become separated and Teddy finds an informant that tells him about the asylum and that nefarious brain surgeries are going on at the lighthouse on the end of the island. He and Chuck go to investigate the lighthouse and Chuck balks at climbing down the cliffs. Teddy never makes it because of the storm and on his way back he sees Chuck’s body on the rocks below and he is horrified. He also discovers a cave where the escaped woman is hiding. She tells him about the asylum and the experiments going on out at the lighthouse and that he is in grave danger. He in fact is being drugged and she shows him the evidence. She won’t leave with him because she says he won’t make off the island.
The next day Teddy is determined to get to the lighthouse. He blows up Dr. Cawley’s car as a diversion and heads for the lighthouse. He swims out to the lighthouse and knocks out the guard and begins to ascend the stairs. Up, up he goes checking the rooms finding nothing until the very last room at the top. You will never believe what he finds. The climax is very clever and wholly unsuspected. This is a powerfully written and acted scene that will amaze you.
The authors have created a suspenseful and dynamic movie. Martin Scorsese’s deft touch at the controls delivers a tense, rocket ride full of action and drama. Leonardo DiCaprio shows us why his star is always on the rise with his intense performance. Sir Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow are both excellent at delivering mystery and menace in their portrayals of the sinister doctors. Mark Ruffalo excels and delivers a fine performance.
The movie Shutter Island is immensely entertaining and you are so involved in the story that the it is over before you can draw a slow breath. Well written and crafted with excellent performances, Shutter Island is a must see movie. You will even forget you have popcorn and a soda until the end.
