Shutter Island- ***+ out of ****

Shutter Island is a very curious movie made by a director that upon watching the film seems a very strange decision. Don’t think that I mean that Scorsese, one of the best directors today, has done a bad job- far from it. The idea that this doesn’t seem to be his usual movie only works to his strengths, allowing him to create something of a fascinating thriller shot with the care and sharpness present in his best films.

The movie begins with a mystery. Two detectives are sent to an island that houses the most violent sociopaths caught by the American judicial system to find a woman who has escaped and is still believed to be on the island. She drowned her three children and has somehow left her locked room without her shoes and snuck past scores of armed guards only to be left on the island where the only survivable way out is through a ferry that is monitored by the security personnel. The movie starts asking the ‘how’ but gradually moves into the ‘why,’ as the detectives attempt to discern where she could be hiding.

If you’ve ever watched a Scorsese film, you know that the plot is much more complicated than that. Ulterior motives, possible conspiracies, and corruption are uncovered as the detectives realize what they have managed to get themselves into.

As I mentioned before, the script goes from an episode of ‘Monk’ into something darker by replacing the ‘how’ with ‘why.’ Some viewers might find it to be frustrating- I was on the edge of my seat, awaiting the next twist or turn and attempting to discover the conclusion before the actors.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot. If I reveal anything else, some part of the movie will be ruined, and I don’t want to spoil the plot. Perhaps you have guessed the conclusion or feel like you know what the mysteries of Shutter Island entail, but that’s only half the fun. The story, adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel (he wrote the source material for Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River”) causes the audience to engage in the characters, only inferring who we should trust and who we shouldn’t. Most is up to you, but this roller-coaster ride remains something fun and heart-wrenching at the same time.

The cast is fascinating. Michelle Williams continues to do fine work with a difficult part; she is Teddy Daniels' (DiCaprio's) deceased wife, Delores. Mark Ruffalo matches wits with Daniels as the mystery unravels. Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow create a symphony of angst and wonder as two of the psychiatric heads of the island. Jackie Earl Haley, previous Oscar nominee for the brilliant "Little Children," finds the right notes as a patient in the most violent wing of the hospital. Finally, I come to the point where I mention who stole the show in the supporting world; there are actually two winners this time, but they are both playing the same character (it's not hard to understand). They are Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson. You can watch them perform a balancing act in the fascinating, touching, and hilarious "Lars and the Real Girl," but here, they begin to unravel more acting skills that have been bottled up inside them for some time. I wonder why Patricia Clarkson has only received one Oscar nomination for the mostly unknown "Pieces of April" and Mortimer has received no nominations. Perhaps this serves as evidence that these two deserve a bright and productive future.

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of my favorite actors today, nominated for three Oscars (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “The Aviator,” and “Blood Diamond,” although methinks the last nomination was meant to encompass his masterwork in “The Departed”) but the winner of zero. He seems to be an actor with the unfortunate luck of having to compete with the finest acting some do in their careers, the winners of those years being Tommy Lee Jones from “The Fugitive,” Jamie Foxx from “Ray,” and Forrest Whitacre from “The Last King of Scotland” respectively. I have to wonder what is in store this year as well as if his work in “Shutter Island,” tied with “The Departed” as his best performance to date, will give him his due. According to www.imdb.com, he has 32 films coming out, including “Aquaman,” a “Twilight Zone” project, and an IMAX Sci-Fi thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, the man behind the camera of “The Dark Knight,” called “Inception.” Certainly work isn’t hard to find for this actor as he continues to rise in his super-stardom.

That being said, I must say that the Scorsese/Dicaprio team seems yet to fail or falter, while I have heard many complaints about some of the Burton/Depp projects. “Shutter Island” may or may not be your movie, but one undisputed fact is that this project is not Oscar bait; the cast and crew were setting out to make a good movie, not something that begs for awards. After all, isn’t that why “Casablanca” was such a success?


Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, and some nudity.

Buy it here.