: Shutter Island
Director: Martin Scorsese
An incredible film. I purposely knew next to nothing about this going in. I’d seen a glimpse or two of a trailer, but all I knew is that it starred Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Martin Scorsese. That was enough for me to go. Oddly, despite knowing zero about the story, it turned out to be just what I expected. The film is about a U.S. marshall going to a remote island that houses a hospital for the criminally insane and looking for an escaped patient. As soon as I saw that we were dealing with crazy people, I had ideas about where the film was going, and that’s what it did. Though I didn’t know the specifics, it still felt predictable to me, though I suspect most people will find the “twist” surprising. What made the film work for me was everything else: the wonderful 1953 period setting and island location, the excellent performances, the flawless use of special effects to convey story not spectacle, the terrific dialog and writing, and the masterful direction. Everything is just so well done. The plot’s gimmicky but it works because there’s depth at every level of the story. The film’s deeply emotional, disturbing, eerie, sad, and tragic. It’s got some tough emotional moments in it that may not be for all people (for instance, one of the crazy people killed her three children, and there are also disturbing scenes at a Nazi concentration camp), but in general this is a must see film. It’s not perfect — the story’s almost too clever for its own good — but so much of it is done so well that it’s worth seeing just for the experience. Go see it!
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